Game of the future
by DuoTrunksIzayaDRRRotaku
Summary: Orihara Izaya is an informant that everyone fears the wrath of. But when the informant's past comes back to hit him hard, how does he cope with such an event? For in reality, a long time ago, Izaya was stuck in a miserable existence-one he's done everything he can to escape from. The wizards want their savior back. But they're getting...a Muggle instead. Shizaya. Izaya is Harry
1. Chapter 1 Creation of a demon

**A/N: WELL, once again, a shitty event has happened to yours truly to make her inspired to rewrite this excellent idea of hers-as I now have a new way of taking this trite trope of Harry being betrayed and attempt to give more life into this story idea of mine. In real life, people are treating me badly for something I can't control. So the rage in my mind is going to go into this new re-written version of Game of the Future. I thank the people who have noticed some of the plot holes and mistakes in this. **

**So yeah, standard Harry Potter bashing story, OOC Ron and Hermione, Dumbledore bashing (within limits, of course), and sociopath Izaya/Harry. **

Chapter One The Birth of A Demon

* * *

The moon was casting its light down onto the residents and inhabitants of Ikebukuro, most of whom were asleep at this hour. There were, of course, residents who tended to be night owls, the various people engaged in illicit occupations, smugglers, drug dealers, prostitutes, murderers, and the like.

One such person was perched atop a building, swinging his legs back and forth as he watched both the twinkling stars and the artificial lights of the city and its people. The young man let out a loud yawn as he ran a hand through his messy black hair.

"I wonder when my human will show up and then I can begin my game." He whispered, his eyes still on the wondrous sights of the people below, all so interesting, involved in their own little world and pursuits. In a way, you could almost call it...

The man pursed his lips and let out a new word, "_Evolution. Not that pathetic, disgusting word." _

Grimacing briefly, he looked up at the sky and said, "You know, if I had more emotion, I would almost say I feel 'happy' looking at these stars, but I only feel bored. I wonder whose fault that is. Well, I'm glad I am the way I am, after all."

His crimson irises locked onto a few humans wandering below; and again his eyes lit up in fascination. These humans still had things he lacked, things he could never hope to possess ever again, things that had been stolen away from him. His eyebrows rose ever so slightly as he took in a happy family below; a mother pushing a baby carriage with their father playing with the young boy.

The very sight made his cold heart almost ache from nostalgia. But no longer could he feel anything but envy-and a slight bit of irritation-from the sight, as he disliked children and families significantly at this point in time. His adoptive family wasn't too bad, it was just that he didn't have the capacity to care about those little things anymore.

In a way, the night sky was like a god, but here he was, a god among humans, confessing his sins to the priest. "I wonder...sometimes I wonder how all of those...those idiots are faring. Well, I bear Hagrid no ill will, but the rest of those fools...they're probably all missing their beloved savior." The word savior was spat out with considerable venom as he took the piece of paper he was holding in his hands and stomped on it.

His eyes played over the paper again; it was a newspaper known as the Daily Prophet. It was not an ordinary newspaper by any means. Then again, neither was the person reading it, much to his annoyance.

"Harry Potter, wanted alive or dead. It has been nine years since the boy mysteriously vanished. Our society cannot survive-"

At this, Izaya turned the page. "The next apocalypse? I dare them to try dealing with an outbreak of AIDs, ebola or regular diseases. They'd be wiped out before long. Wouldn't that be a grand day?" He chuckled at that joke.

He resigned himself to counting how many humans were fighting, then to counting how many humans were arguing, and then whenever he was bored with that, he decided to count all the constellations; some of the not so useless bullshit he was taught as a child.

There was Orion, there was Capricorn, there was the Little Dipper and the Big Dipper. But he didn't really give a damn about that stuff. He was so alone that he didn't care.

"This night reminds me too much of the old days..." He mumbled. Bored, he checked the time on his phone. It would not be much longer now until she showed up. What could he do in the meantime? Shizu-chan didn't seem to be around to pester.

The young man's eyes locked onto the picture of the boy listed in the newspaper, then he took out his switchblade and carved an X right onto the paper. "Too bad for them that Harry Potter died long, long ago. There is just me, Izaya Orihara." Humming a tune to himself, Izaya closed his eyes and thought about getting some sleep.

But then again, if he fell asleep, his mind would drift back into those memories. Izaya let out a sudden shudder. He wanted to stay awake. But his body was aching for sleep after another sleepless night helping an important client of Shiki's, so he needed to do it.

"To life as a Muggle!" He chirped, pretending to do an imaginary toast before he took his brief slumber; during which he was propelled into many, many unpleasant images of his past-the life he would never go back to willingly. The life of a child soldier and tool.

* * *

**Nine years ago, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in Scotland **

You see, Izaya Orihara was a wizard-a race of humans that could produce magic.

Hogwarts was one such school for young witches and wizards to go to learn how to practice their magic, how to utilize it and how to survive being in a world that knew nothing of magical people. The grand castle had stood for many centuries, educating many people, good and bad.

The school was known for its 'high' education, even though the school had a record for being poorly maintained and neglectful. During the past three years, a known serial killer had been let loose inside the building, a werewolf had been a teacher, a student had been attacked by a hippogriff, a couple of them had been petrified by a basilisk and a kid running loose, possessed by an evil overlord, had done the petrification.

There were dangerous traps and all sorts of dangers in the school. The worst part of all was the negligence on part of the teachers in the school and the students. When a girl named Hermione Granger had almost gotten killed by a troll when she was in the girls' bathroom after being insulted by another student, no teachers had arrived to console her on the trauma or punish the student who had led her to this event.

Some students were bullied by teachers like Severus Snape and no one seemed to care at all. That was the saddest thing. People were so enraptured by Hogwarts' grandeur that they forgot to see past the magic and treat the children like, well, children-human and deserving of care.

They looked down upon Muggles, people who had no magic-and thought of them as lesser creatures.

But there was no one who was more well-thought of and admired than the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. Once upon a time, the old man had been so kind and trusting that it hurt, but now things were different. Power had corrupted Albus Dumbledore and turned him into a monster.

Cornelius Fudge was right about not trusting Dumbledore, because as a matter of fact, he was more interested in one thing than anyone else. He didn't love his students; he cared about them, sure, but he was more than willing to use them if it meant doing good in the future.

The only thing that mattered to him was in keeping all of the Hogwarts students under his control. The most satisfying pawn was definitely Harry James Potter for Dumbledore. Harry was special.

Depending on who you spoke to, Harry Potter was either a heroic boy, the next Messiah Incarnate, or a sinful little devil that deserved to be put down for his existence, as some people would call him.

Cornelius Fudge saw him as a danger to wizardkind and often he would make political statements suggesting maybe they should send the boy away from Hogwarts and send him to another school, perhaps a place where he wouldn't cause so much grief and heartache.

The wizarding public wasn't very fond of the boy, not since he'd tried to weasel his way out of the grand Triwizard Tournament. Anyone who dared back out of something like that was a coward.

As a matter of fact, it wasn't _really _Harry Potter's fault that he got all this hate. In fact, the blame could be put on said man, Albus Dumbledore, because even though Albus Dumbledore **pretended** to care about Harry Potter, he only cared about his welfare as long as it benefitted him. Harry Potter had been such a useful tool the day he had been born, after all.

It was most tragic that Lily and James had died, yes. He had not intended for that to happen.

But it was also...beneficial for him the day that James and Lily Potter had died at the hands of Voldemort.

It was the perfect chance for him to make a 'hero' out of an innocent young child, and the best way he could do that was to rid him of any arrogance or normal self-esteem he would normally possess.

What better way to do that, than by sending him to a home where no one would love him and mistreat him? Privet Drive was the _perfect _home for Harry.

He would have no normal human contact, be hated perpetually, to the point where he would have no regard for his own life and be so _hungry_ for attention and human companionship that he would throw himself away for the first person to show kindness to him, which was perfect.

He needed Harry to be the perfect pawn, and then once Voldemort was stopped, he would show the world what evil truly was.

In his second year, Harry had been accused of being the Heir of Slytherin for speaking Parseltongue, just because he had saved a student. The end result was that everyone at Hogwarts mistreated Harry and unfortunately, Dumbledore didn't care. The blood wards at his aunt and uncle's was a mere lie, it was just a lie to make Harry all the more submissive.

The boy was just an easily manipulated fool. Dumbledore's plans worked according to his calculations. The boy kept on returning to the place where he was abused, believing that he needed to be there, never once suspecting that everything was a lie. But it was.

Now, his name had been placed in the cup for the Triwizard Tournament. In fact, here was the boy again, whining about his problems to him. How irritating this was.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, sir, can't you prevent Malfoy from bad-mouthing my father? Nearly no one here seems to care about me anymore. No matter how many times I told him to stop, he wouldn't listen and Snape punished me even more!"

"_Professor_ Snape, Harry. Well, we'll have to wait for a while."

"But _why?" _Harry insisted. His whining was becoming very irritating.

"Harry, the binding contract means you have to take part in this, regardless of how you think."

"But why, headmaster?"

"It's for the good of the Wizarding World. I mean, you want to save everybody. What happens if your friends get in trouble?"

Harry's eyes widened. "You're right, headmaster. I'm sorry for doubting in you."

"Nonsense, you should have come to me from the start."

"Sure. Thank you, headmaster." Harry said.

Dumbledore smirked.

What a _glorious_ day this was turning out to be. Dumbledore didn't even realize that his actions would lead to the birth of a person darker and twisted than he could ever expect.

Harry returned to his friends, Ron and Hermione. He was surprised to see that they weren't waiting for him. Could it be that Hermione still believed in him? Suddenly, he heard their voices. He ran over to find them, eagerly smiling.

However, when he found them, he realized that they weren't smiling at all.

Apparently, they hadn't even realized he was there.

Rather, Hermione looked distressed.

"...I'm telling you, how much longer do we have to keep on doing this? I'm sick of pretending to like him. I've grown to genuinely like him and I _wish_ you would, too."

"Mione, who gives a damn? We're only supposed to do this until our final year. Why do you keep on acting like it?"

"Because I'm tired of lying to him."

Hermione seemed angry, angry about _what_, exactly? He couldn't pinpoint it. He ran toward them, but much to his surprise, they weren't looking at him with happiness. Instead, Ron looked irritated.

"So the traitor gets here after all," Ron sneered. "What, the fame of the Goblet didn't get you in over your head even more, so you've come here to gloat about it?"

"What?" Harry said, shocked at this change in Ron's behavior.

_'You know what I'm saying."_

"Harry, there's something we need to tell you. From the start, we..."

"Shut up, Mione. I'll deal with _this_ traitor on my own!"

"Ron, no. Let's not argue."

"_He's a traitor who put his name in the Goblet."_

"It was all just a misunderstanding!" Harry cried. "You know full well I didn't mean any offense by it!"

Before Harry or Hermione could react, Ron took out his wand...and hit Harry on the head with it. Blood streamed from his head as the young boy fell unconscious.

He almost thought he could hear a scornful voice whispering, "_Great job, Ron. Now he'll think twice before he insults us."_

Harry awoke to find himself in the hospital room with Madame Pomfrey standing over him in worry.

"Your head wound is pretty awful," she said. "I'm afraid you can't do any Quidditch for quite a while and work on recuperating from your injury. I don't think you should be in the Triwizard Tournament. It's not safe."

"Thank you," Harry whispered. He decided to get some sleep.

He awoke, early, and heard some soft voices whispering. He didn't know who they belonged to, but they sounded oddly familiar. Why were they being so quiet? It was sort of strange. They sounded so close by, too. He strained his ears to listen.

"But we _can't_ just send him back to his relatives with an injury like this. You know full well that his relatives will misuse him-"

"You know as well as I that only his aunt can care for him. You know about the blood wards..."

"I won't hear such nonsense!" There was good old McGonagall, caring about him like always.

"Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger have been asking to see Potter. I'll bring them in."

He could hear Ron and Hermione's footsteps. His heart lit up in excitement.

"What's his condition, Headmaster?"

"I'm afraid that the head injury Mr. Weasley gave him is pretty bad. He'll need to stay in there for quite a while."

"Aw man, this sucks." Ron said. "_How much longer is he going to be a vegetable for? Can't we just kill him already?"_

Harry's eyes widened. He had never heard Ron say something like this. He was sure it had to be a mistake.

"Honestly, wasn't the whole plan "we pretend to be his friends until he dies against Voldemort? Then we can become famous as his friends and get ahold of his money."

"Mr. Weasley, you're not getting a hand on his money; that'll go to the Wizarding World public for letting us survive."

'Surely, Hermione won't betray me.'

"Oh, I heard him whining about his injuries. He was whining about how people were mistreating him. It was so pathetic. _Who does he think he is_, having the right to complain like this, when he's always dragging us into his personal adventures, and how many injuries have we sustained from him? I actually regret him saving me from that troll! I don't like being around someone as egotistical and childish as he is! Just the thought of that makes me sick. How much longer do we have to deal with this? And not only that, due to Ron, the whole plan is messed up. I do feel bad about what we did, but to think that he's sitting there acting like a bump on the log...he's worthless as he is now. Can't we just kill him already?"

"Now, now, the deal was we wait for him to destroy Voldemort and then you...can either get him to marry Ginny, _even if he is a cripple_, he can still make children and then die. Or else, we can obliviate him of his memories and make him live in St. Mungo's."

"That sounds a little too harsh," Ron said, "But still, I just can't stand being around him. He put his name in the Goblet just so he could get all the money."

"Now, now, Mr. Weasley, we're looking into that. _How about you, Mrs. Weasley?"_

"Oh, poor Ron, I know how badly you feel about this. But Harry has to be our savior. It's necessary for him. Poor, sweet little Ginny is asking about when Harry will stop being a vegetable and get married to him."

'What the hell's going on? This has to be a bad joke...'

"What about the Dursleys? Should we keep on sending him there? They keep on hurting Harry," Molly said.

"It's all for the greater good, my dear. The reason we send him there is just so we can keep him in line and make him as good a pawn as possible."

"It's so easy, you know. He believes everything we tell him. It's so fun." Ron added.

Harry could feel tears streaming out of his eyes, as pure betrayal and rage built up within him_. 'How can they honestly sit there laughing? How can they be so heartless?'_

The fury came over him in waves. Most of all, he felt hatred for the other wizards for using him. 'You know...I think I really hate wizards. Are they all this disgusting? If that's so, I don't wish to be a wizard anymore. Screw this magical world. I'm tired of it stealing everything from me, stealing my pride and dignity. I won't let them get away with this.'

The next day, Harry Potter was nowhere to be found. What was even more frustrating to Dumbledore was that his wand was found ripped in half with a note attached to it. It read.

_"Dear Hogwarts, you've been so good to me these past three years. You've treated me with so much love and kindness that I feel it tingling in my bones and I just want to congratulate you with this little note. Go ahead and play your little twisted games with your world, old man. I'm done. Your pathetic little world will meet its end soon enough at the hands of Voldemort. I'm no longer going to play the role of puppet and be to blame for everything that goes wrong around here. I've had enough of it all and I'm leaving. You'll never find me, so there. That's what you humans are. All you do is use others, right Runt and Herwhinny? I won't be a pawn anymore. I'm running away and leaving this world behind. In fact, I might even join the Death Eaters. If you see anyone in costume...it'll be me. You will burn in hell, Dumbledore, for making my life hell."_

_-Signed, Harry Potter, the former Golden boy._

Upon reading the note, Dumbledore's rage intensified, to the point where he ripped the note in two. "We must find Mr. Potter at once!"

* * *

They couldn't find him because in fact Harry had fled and done it so cleverly and effectively that no one could find him. Then he had taken a boat to Japan...and then he met the Awakusu-kai...and thus nine long years had passed...and Harry Potter was forgotten by the Wizarding World.

"Heh heh..." He chuckled darkly as he stared at his reflection in a puddle on the roof. "Time certainly does do a lot to people, doesn't it? Who would have ever thought I'd have this freedom?" He said before doing a little dance.

"Oh, she's here." He said before putting away his phone. "Here comes the melodrama."

"I'm so glad you met with me, Kamine-san. I know full well you're the only person I can trust."

"Uh-huh..." He mumbled, busy doing his nails.

"Kamine-san, are you paying attention to me? I was just telling you that my boyfriend ditched me, even after I worked so hard for him-not even my family understood me. But you understand me, right, Kamine-san? You already took time out of your day to meet with me, so obviously you must care about me, right?"

He sighed. Time to end this little charade.

"HA? You, get real!"

"Huh?" She just looked at him like he was nuts.

"Seriously, you expect me, a complete and total stranger, to solve all of your problems? What you don't get is that this was just an elaborate game, played with you and you alone!"

"Eh? You've gotta be joking."

"I'm not joking, I'm 100 percent serious. So let me get this straight. You've given up everything for this one guy-your family, your friends, your current boyfriend, you've given up everything to chase after this man, even though he already rejected you and ran off with another woman. And whenever he doesn't want you, you turn to a complete and utter stranger online about your problems. What an IDIOT you are!"

"Kamine-san...you..."

"So...since we agreed on it, why don't you...hurry up and die?"

"You...aren't planning...to die?"

"Of course not. Why would I want to throw away my life for a worthless woman like you? Ah, but I can help you. I have this camera here, see? And when you jump off, I'll record you and upload it to the Internet so that way everyone can see you die! Would that be preferable?"

"What's wrong with you, Kamine-"

"Kamine is not my real name. That's merely an alias. Did you honestly think that I'd be stupid enough to use my real name on the Internet?"

Suddenly they were interrupted.

'Who could that be?' Izaya thought.

It was a rider wearing a yellow helmet.

"It's the headless rider!" The woman ran off in fear.

The boy once known as Harry Potter sighed and shook his head, running his hands through his messy black hair. "Looks like I won't be needing this anymore..." He said, before stowing the camera in his fur jacket. "You know...you really oughta stop ruining these things." He said in annoyance.

The rider said nothing and walked towards him. It noticed the camera in his pocket and then shook its helmet disapprovingly.

"Seriously, courier, do you _always_ have to ruin my chances of having fun?"

The rider shook its head, and then it whipped out a small phone and typed, "_How can you do such a thing? Don't you have any empathy?"_

"Hmm...so apparently what you're telling me is I have no empathy. That's a mean thing to say."

The figure paused as it looked at the dark-haired man before writing again,"But still, you acted like everything there was a complete game. You were toying with that young woman like her life meant nothing-"

"Heh heh..."

"You told her she should die."

"So what? In the end, she didn't do it, so it's pointless. And all because you had to come and ruin my fun."

_"Fun isn't torturing young women and then murdering them."_

"You have no sense of humor, courier." The young man pouted, running his hands through his spiky black hair. "So what else are you gonna say?"

'Why do you do this?'

_"Why_ do I do this? I do it for many reasons, but you haven't told me anything about what makes you you. Anyway, if you hadn't performed your heroic stunt, that young woman would've died. And it's not like magic would have saved her or something."

"So, what do you believe in? I mean, did your parents raise you to think this way?"

"Such a rude question. That could get you in trouble."

"So, _Orihara Izaya, _what does that make you?"

"Sorry, courier...you can try and guess who I am. That's really all there is to it." He said before childishly waving goodbye and then running off.

Celty shook her 'head.' 'That man acts like a child...a really sick, disgusting child...'

He ran off to the other side of the roof. He noticed the air conditioner that was blowing there. He toyed around with the controls for a few moments before getting bored. "Hmm...look at all of those humans down there. Really...I love them...I love them all..." He said, his face turning more and more maniacal.

"Like I said before, it's been nine years, since that little boy known as the savior disappeared. How's that stupid little society faring without me? It's not like I'll ever go back there."

"Heh heh heh heh heh..."

"Seriously, though...they're a bunch of fucking idiots. To think I would return to that place willingly...they're idiots!"

He cried, ripping the piece of paper he was holding in two. He watched as the pieces of paper fell to the ground and then he stepped on them, laughing maniacally.

"That's right! I, Izaya Orihara, have replaced that stupid boy known as Harry Potter! These humans are so much better than those dim-witted wizards could ever dream of being. I love them all..." He said dementedly, grinning wickedly at the people down below. He noticed one person look up at him and then run away.

"That's right, my beloved humans...realize I'm superior to all of you. Hmm...what's this?"

He tilted his head briefly, sensing someone was watching him. "Whoever's watching me, you'd better come out or else I'll make you." He said before whipping out a knife. He realized it was a dark-haired man he knew very well.

"What brings you to Japan, Severus-kun?" He said, casting his ruby-red eyes over to the cowering wizard, who was afraid of Izaya.

"Are you the one I seek?"


	2. Chapter 2 Discovered

Game of the Future Chapter two redone: The man behind the monster

A/N:Wow, thanks for all the comments! Currently, the twenty-fifth chapter of this story is being written up but this story is being posted on this site as well! I've got like six minutes left of stuff to write up left over from the first chapter. (I transcribe my fics from a tape recorder, so that's why I said that.) It's convenient and handy. So I'll write those up and then time to copy and paste the second chapter and fix it up! :D I'm glad you like my Izaya writing.

* * *

Chapter Two: The man behind the monster.

Izaya tilted his head at the man standing before him. "Hmm? Sorry, I don't speak English very well..." He was surprised that the man he hated most was here in Ikebukuro, of all places. It had to be some sort of mistake. There was no way they could have found him. No effing way. Izaya refused to believe it.

Frowning, the man stepped toward him, but Izaya just smirked at him before he jumped right off the building. Cackling madly, he ran off, while the man followed in hot pursuit, but Izaya ignored him and exchanged a few conversations with Dota-chin and Kida-kun over the phone, in Japanese, of course, which he knew annoyed Severus.

He crawled up the window like usual. "Hi there, Namie-chan! You gonna let me in?"

"Can I hit you in the face with the window and slam it down on you?"

"Ha ha, that'd _be so_ rude!" Izaya moaned as he climbed in through the window and slammed it shut. "My, this certainly _is_ interesting. I have a stalker chasing after me."

"I hope he gets you," She said, not at all enthused by his happy-go-lucky attitude. "

"That's rude," Izaya said as he settled down in his chair and turned on his laptop, and started to work. Namie had already left the room. "You may as well come out now, Severus. I'm alone."

Sure enough, the dark-haired man turned up.

"You're untouched by time, I see." Izaya purred, in Japanese.

"Speak English," The man remarked, "Potter. You're going to come with me, back to Hogwarts, regardless of whether you want to or not."

"Ah~, what's this Hogwarts place? I know _nothing_ of which you speak," He said dismissively, waving his hand as though the man was nothing more than an annoying pain-in-the-ass whom he wanted to go away. "I can't understand what you're saying. It makes no sense."

"Potter...I have _no _time for this nonsense. I've listened to you annoy me long enough. Now, return to Hogwarts at once. It's been a long time indeed. Albus wishes for you to return to Hogwarts, to fulfill your destiny."

"Huh...? Go back there? Sorry, the answer is NO," Izaya sneered.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I'm no longer that stupid little boy, so you can just leave, Severus. Besides, I'm no longer a student at Hogwarts and I'm no longer your slave. It sucks, doesn't it? You have no power over me, and now I'm someone who's superior to you."

"Potter, enough of these games-"

"Games? I love games!" He said as he burst out laughing hysterically, sending chills down Severus's spine. He was visibly unnerved. "Like I said before, I'm insane, so what use would an insane boy be at Hogwarts? I'm twenty-three years old now, far too old to believe in stupid things like magic. It's child's play; it's much better to beat people up with your own hands."

"Harry, enough of this nonsense."

"Heh heh...you're so stupid. You wizards are so _fucking stupid_, it never ceases to drive me nuts. But I no longer go by that name, Severus-kun," Izaya purred before running his hands through his spiky black hair and smirking at him, his crimson eyes dancing in delight.

"Potter..."

But the young man paid him no mind and yawned. "I think Namie Yagiri-san would like you to leave."

"Who the hell is he, Orihara?" She demanded, slapping her hand down on the desk.

"Watch your tone, woman." Severus snapped, before whipping out his wand.

"Uh-uh-uh, we don't use that sort of outdated weaponry. This is the civilized age, Severus-kun. We've even invented shampoo; you should try some."

"Potter, enough-"

"My name now is _Izaya Orihara_, an informant. Kindly escort this delusional man out, Namie-san. He's lost his way and he's an escaped mental patient who has me mistaken for someone else."

"He's not one _of your_ ilk?" Namie said, but upon seeing Izaya smirk at her, she just sighed and then escorted the man out.

"Who the hell was that, Orihara?" She spat.

"I dunno...some crazy person..." Izaya said, shrugging absent-mindedly.

"You mean like the one who's standing in my office?"

"I dunno...I'll leave you to decide that. But I'm going to bed now. It's been a rough day and I'm very tired."

"At _my _place?"

"Yep, at your place. Do you mind?" He said sarcastically.

"_Of course_ I mind." She said darkly.

"I'm glad you're so nice, Namie-chan," He said as he walked off.

She just scoffed. "Tch, dealing with him is bad enough."

Albus Dumbledore stared at Snape, expectantly. "Did you find him, Severus?"

Severus shook his head. "No, he's dead. Harry Potter is dead." But in his heart, he whispered, 'He's been replaced by a psychotic man named Izaya Orihara...'

====================The next day-

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore's office, Hogwarts

A lot of people tended to say that old age brought about wisdom and intelligence. There was always a common saying that you should always respect people who were older than you, and that they should be called upon for everything, because they always knew what was best for everybody. The same could be held for the Wizarding World, where the residents had become almost senescent, they almost never aged. They hardly, if ever died, due to the fact that there were things like the Philosopher's Stone handy, and perhaps attesting to this, there was not a great value placed on the young people, and their opinions didn't really matter in the long run.

What mattered most to them was tradition, the old way of doing things. If an old person told a wizard or witch to do something, they would do it. The pure-blooded ruled.

However, out of all the people in the Wizarding World who were the most important, there was no one who was as avidly adulated and worshipped as the "great" wizard, Albus Dumbledore. Not only was he the head of the Wizengamot, and in a bunch of other positions that were absolutely meaningless to him, but not to other people; he was seen as a savior, moreso than Harry Potter had ever been.

The Wizarding World was glad that the troublemaking pain in the behind was gone. He had brought nothing but grief and heartache upon their world, claiming one terrible thing after the other had fallen upon them. Voldemort possessing a young girl's body to commit crimes? Sirius Black being innocent? What nonsense.

Harry Potter, however, was an even _greater _mystery to the wizards, as he had just vanished out of the blue.

Though, as to what happened to one Harry Potter, no one except one Severus Snape actually knew. The boy had simply disappeared in his fourth year after being selected by the Goblet of Fire. Not even the great Albus Dumbledore was able to locate his pawn. The least he had known was that the boy had run away and possibly joined the Death Eaters, thanks to the note he had left behind, cursing them all out and telling them he would join Voldemort.

He had gone to the Dursleys and asked them, and when they hadn't known, he had just Obliviated their memories of Harry. If the boy was gone, his pawns weren't needed; the last thing he needed were Muggles who knew of the existence of wizards. After all, the only reason the Muggles even existed were as test subjects for the Wizarding World.

Naturally, power had corrupted Albus Dumbledore, and it had changed him from the once gentle man he had been into a very cold and cruel person. He didn't care about what happened to Harry Potter. It was most fortunate for him that the Dursleys had done their job so well.

As long as his pawn did what he was supposed to do and kill Voldemort; then he would outlive his usefulness, and after he died, then Dumbledore could truly show the world what 'evil' was. He was very, very, _very,_ dissatisfied with the way the past few years had gone. Ron Weasley was unable to continue spying on Harry with him gone, and thus the plans for bringing Harry and Ginevra together gradually through manipulation were broken.

It was too bad, really. He'd had so much planned. He'd wanted to have Harry be taught Occlumency and only learn fragmented memories so he would learn how important it was to be light and never dark, he'd wanted Harry to form his own army and name them after him and try to scare Fudge, the fool who knew his true face, into obeying; he'd also intended for Voldemort to find the prophecy and for Harry to see him die at the hands of Snape.

Then it was simple. He would only have to make him search out the 'horcruxes' and then tell him the little white lie of 'he needed to die to defeat Voldemort.' Then Ginny would marry him and have children, and then they would simply erase his memories and make him live in St. Mungo's, or else they intended for him to live as an Auror who would still be heavily watched. Or they could just kill him. Whichever was necessary to bring about the Greater Good.

But the boy had completely disappeared

Without Harry Potter, the "evil" Voldemort had gathered even more followers in his quest for power, all the while not suspecting that he was just a little puppet being used by Albus. His whole plan was screwed up because that damned boy had disappeared. He could not find the boy.

Sure, he may have had his suspicions, after all, but Albus was omniscient. That was why he was frustrated with the fact, that the boy was gone-the useful pawn he could not raise like a pig for the slaughter-he was gone, and he would not find him again. But he suspected that Severus knew something, for he had sent him to find the boy. And yet, whenever he had come back, Severus had seemed scared out of his wits, almost as if he had met a demon, the devil himself.

Dumbledore frowned. Could Mr. Potter be hiding out in the Muggle world? No, that was impossible. Mr. Potter was too stupid and malleable; he would've come running back to Hogwarts. After seeing what sorts of people his relatives were, Mr. Potter would come to enjoy the Magical World more and stay forever. Since he destroyed his wand, that removed any of the trackers on him, so it was impossible. A young boy with a scar on his forehead and a bleeding head wound would not last long. He was either dead or maybe lying in prison, being tortured by Voldemort.

No, Mr. Potter was dead. It really sucked to know he wasn't the one who had killed the boy. In a way, he did feel bad for the boy; being raised as a tool to destroy an evil villain...but the boy didn't need to be missed. No one cared, really.

Frowning, he smiled then as two figures apparated: newlyweds, Ron and Hermione Weasley, nee Granger. The two of them had gotten married only a few months ago, and Hermione had been quite happy with the arrangements. Though Molly was quite insistent on Hermione bearing a successor.

"Have you found him yet?" Dumbledore asked, though he already knew the answer, long before she spoke.

A look of regret tore across Hermione's face. "No, I haven't found Harry."

Ron snorted. "Good riddance," Ron said, "He was nothing but an egotistical scumbag, anyway. Not like we need him."

"Harry is necessary for this war, so no matter what treatment we put him through, he'll undoubtedly come back. Don't worry," Dumbledore said confidently, "It never stopped him from saving us before."

Ron just smirked. "Yeah." He said.

Ron was the easiest pawn for Albus to control, but that was because he was an idiot, and easy to use. He was greedy for power. Actually, Ron was a little regretful over the fact that he had betrayed his friend, but he had just found the boy to be too egotistical for his tastes, and besides, the boy had been cowardly enough to run away from them all and his duties.

"I wish you hadn't hit him over the head, Ron, then none of this would have happened," Hermione whispered.

Ron turned to glare at her. "What are you saying?" He cried. "Everything's better when that idiot's gone! When he's here, the entire world is doomed. Without him, we're fine."

"Don't you see the mistake you made? He was the only thing the Light had in order to destroy the darkness. And now, everything will just become worse because of Voldemort."

"Ah, Mrs. Granger, you are right like always."

Hermione blushed, but tensed slightly. Mrs. Granger had always been a most difficult pawn to control.

"Mrs. Granger, Mr. Weasley, I would like you to talk to Severus and find out what he found out about Mr. Potter. I suspect he found something, but he doesn't wish to talk about it."

"I don't believe that we should have done what we did to Harry," Hermione protested, her arms folded.

"You're such an idiot! A big, freaking idiot! You're my wife. That means you ought to listen to me above all else. Listen to me, 'Mione. I care about you above all else. But that Potter...is he really all you think about? I don't want to think that all you think about is him!"

"He was our friend, and we betrayed him. Look what you did to him, Ron. You hit him on the head, and left him bleeding. I'll admit, at first I was glad to be rid of him, but now I feel like we've done something terrible."

"Oh, come on, Mione. He deserved it."

"No, he didn't. We did something terrible," Hermione said, "That's why, if we find him again, I'll promise to never betray him again."

Ron made to slap Hermione, but Dumbledore stopped him.

"You must not do that. You and Mrs. Granger are destined to be together," Dumbledore said.

"I suppose that's true," She whispered.

* * *

Hermione glanced down at her cell phone. Even though Ron had told her he was against her using Muggle technology in the house, she still used it because she didn't want to be stuck in the Stone Ages, after all. She had to tell her parents how she was doing, and stuff. However, today, when she opened her text messages and sorted through them, there was a new message. It read, in plain black letters:

_**Hello, there. I happened to find your number by accident, and you seem to be ~quite~ a cute girl. Care telling me what's on your mind? Oh, and you can call me Nakura-san. I'm a Japanese.**_

'A Japanese?' She texted back. 'You're _really_ Japanese?'

_**Indeed, I am. You can feel free to tell me absolutely anything. I'll bet you're a really, really cute girl.**_

Hermione blushed. She was already married to Ron. Was this boy fooling around with her? She was wary of this newcomer. Who was he?

'I'm sorry, but I'm already married. I can't betray Ron.'

_**'Ah, yes, Ron? What kind of name is that? What is this 'Ron' person like? You sound dissatisfied.'**_

'Well, he's sort of a jerk,' She wrote back.

_**'Oh, really? That's too bad. I'm sure a clever girl like you could do a whole lot better. I mean, ~don't you get tired of someone that boring~? Don't you want to find a nicer guy...one that could treat you right?**_

Now she was sure that he was trying to weasel her into something. 'Aren't you a clever guy?' She wrote back.

_**A message appeared a few moments later. 'Aren't you a clever girl? Just like you ~always~ were.**_

"What are you doing, 'Mione?" Ron cried. "I told you not to use Muggle technology here."

"Sorry," Hermione said, putting her phone away. When Ron had left, she whipped out her phone again, and texted, 'I'll talk to you later, Nakura-san.'

* * *

-Shinjuku Ward of Tokyo, a High-rise apartment building-

Meanwhile, the owner of the cell phone looked at the text message on his phone with a gleam in his ruby-red eyes. That was one Izaya Orihara, who had now found his old nemesis and perfect pawn; Hermione, the one who had made him into what he was now.

Izaya smirked as he looked at the number on his phone. "I found you, 'Mione. You always _were_ an easy pawn to manipulate, and seeing as now I'm the one with all of the pawns in my hands...I will use you all to my utmost." He smirked at the pawns on his board. He walked over and picked up a white one, glancing at it coldly as he dropped it down on the board. The piece cracked slightly, and he smirked again.

It was obvious who that piece resembled, Izaya thought. It was the symbol of a man who'd ruined his life...a man who was going to die a painful death.

"Now, old man...we're going to play a new game. It's called...how many turns will it take before _I kill you_? I'm confident that Snivellus won't be able to say anything about where I am...you've made sure of that, haven't you, Namie Yagiri-san?" He said, directing his gaze toward the annoyed woman who disdained his existence.

"Whoever was targeting you, I suppose I have no choice but to help you out," She said disdainfully. "You mind telling me some of your secrets?"

"What kind of man would reveal every secret that's in his closet? That defeats the purpose." He chuckled darkly.

"At least tell me what this has to do with you," She said.

"I don't trust _in anyone,_ Namie Yagiri-san," Izaya remarked cheerfully, which was the truth.

"Oh, sure, like _you're _the type to induce trust in others," She snarked.

"A long time ago, I was betrayed, so I don't trust in anyone anymore," He said darkly.

"Humans are quite a disgusting, psychotic bunch, wouldn't you say?" He said before laughing.

"Look who's talking," She snarked again.

"Oh, Namie Yagiri-san, you crack me up. But my real _name isn't_ Izaya Orihara. That has merely been a new name I've chosen for myself. I've been living here for the past nine years, just like you, I came to escape the past, and just like you, I despise all things unnatural," He said before lifting Celty's head off its shelf, examining it in fascination.

"Well, if there's one thing you and I have in common, it's that we both hate that head," She said.

"Yes, indeed," Izaya said, a malicious grin crossing his face. "Let me tell you something fascinating," He said before picking up a chess piece and throwing it in the air, "Did you know that magic is real?"

"Magic?" She said skeptically. "Another one of your fairy tales, Orihara?"

"Yes, there exists a secret society that hides in the shadows like a group of cowards, and they...are incredibly backwards-minded and racist. They even believe that they are better than us Muggles. That's their name for us. They can make us believe whatever they want us to, they can erase our memories, they can do all sorts of unsavory things. What a bunch of fools they all are."

"You telling me you're part of them or that you're running away from them?" She said astutely.

"You could say running away from them, but I've taken a liking to living with everything being controlled by me," He said.

"You're still not answering my question," She remarked.

"Sigh...let's just say that, a long time ago," He muttered before sketching out a picture of his former friends Ron and Hermione (and himself,) "There existed a very naive and stupid boy. He explored too much and got himself killed, and now, that very same boy...is _dead_," He spat before ripping the pieces of paper into little bits and stepping on them. He started to laugh hysterically.

"Could you stop that laughing? It's quite annoying," She remarked.

"Forgive me, Namie-san. It seems that I've gotten too lost in the past. I hope you'll forgive me for that, but I've just found a juicy new target to manipulate," He licked his lips. "Humans are so interesting to toy with, wouldn't you agree?"

"I do agree with you on that, except for my little brother," Namie said. "They're so easy to control."

"That's right...and that's why, when they get out of your control, you just want to do away with them, right?" Izaya said.

"No wonder I chose to share this office with you. Even though you're a crazy, psychotic maniac, I suppose there are_ some _benefits to it," She said sarcastically. "But I really wish you wouldn't look at that head so much. It's disgusting."

"Forgive me," Izaya said, "I've lost track of time." He glared at the torn pieces of paper on the ground and then he lit them on fire.

"All you need to do is start a flame that will start a war..." He whispered.

"You are insane, you know that?" Namie snarked. The maniacal grin on Izaya's face told her all she needed to know. It was the look of a person who had been broken beyond belief, and it was definitely that of a man who showed no remorse. A sociopath; nothing mattered for him but his own goals.

"Well," He said, once Namie had left the room in frustration and he had smothered the fire, he picked up the same white bishop, and threw it on the ground. "So, old man, what will your move be? Even if you look for me, I won't go down easily," He whispered as he crushed it beneath his feet, "I will definitely _not _return to that world. Now, how on earth should I keep manipulating Mione, that little brat?"

* * *

Much to his surprise, it was not Dumbledore he ran into down the street, but Fred and George. He was just going for a nice, little stroll around Ikebukuro when...

"IIIIIIIIIIIIZAYAAAAAAAAA!" A familiar voice cried. Izaya sighed. 'Here we go again...' Predictable, old Shizuo...Izaya turned to greet the blond bartender, who looked angry like usual.

"Ah, Shizu-chan...giants like you are so typical."

"Wipe that grin off your face, Izaya, before I bash it in!" Shizuo boomed.

"Ah, Shizu-chan...your violence...it's so annoyingly predictable."

"Your smirking is annoyingly predictable, and that's why I'm going to wipe it off your face!" Shizuo cried as he threw a vending machine at Izaya, who smirked and dodged. He lunged with his knife, but before he could hit Shizuo, he heard two very familiar voices interject.

"That won't do."

"There's no need for that sort of violence, Muggles," They chorused.

Izaya froze as he took in the two familiar redheaded men. 'Those two...what are they doing here in Ikebukuro?' He thought in alarm.

"Now, let's say you two stop fighting," They said before raising their wands up.

"Do you expect to win against me with a stupid stick like that?" Shizuo cried.

It was then at this point that Fred decided to use his wand against him...but instead, as what predictably happened, Shizuo snapped the wand in half with his own strength.

"Blimey, you have super strength!" Fred said, "Who are you?"

"I'm Shizuo Heiwajima, and if you know what's good for you, you'll run away now before I beat the crap out of you!"

'Here he goes again,' Izaya thought, looking bored now.

"Oh, yes, yes, very interesting, Mr. Shizuo...do tell us more. I'm Fred and George Weasley. We're clowns."

"The circus isn't in town," Shizuo said, noticing that Izaya was already slinking away from the scene of the crime like a cat. "...Don't think you're getting away, flea."

"And what about you?" They said before turning their gazes on Izaya, who blinked at them for a few moments before smirking. "You going to apologize?"

"Well, Shizu-chan, this is where I say my goodbyes~!" Izaya said before running off.

"DAMN YOU, IZAYA, GET BACK HERE!" Shizuo cried, hurling a garbage can at Izaya, but he dodged it.

"Where do you think you're going, Muggle? We'd like to have a talk with you!" Fred and George chirped.

Just the last two people Izaya wanted to run into from his old life. "What can I help you with? My name's Izaya Orihara." 'Please, just go away,' He thought.

"Aren't you a likable chap?" They remarked. "Say, what's that?"*

"What's what?" Izaya remarked.

"There's a scar from under your bangs," They said.

"Oh, this? I got it a long time ago," Izaya remarked.

"It looks more like you were hit on the head with something," George deduced.

"Yes, something very sharp," Izaya said dryly, "It happened when I was fourteen, as a matter of fact...I'm twenty-three now."

The two twins looked at him for a long moment. "H-Harry?" They said in complete disbelief.

"Long time no see," Izaya said, "But I go by the name Izaya now, and I'm a full-blooded Japanese. I no longer consider myself a wizard."

"You've changed," George said, "But in some ways-"

"You're still the same!" Fred chirped.

"So Dumbledore manipulated you?" Fred asked.

"Yes, more or less, he wanted me to die for the sake of a cause I didn't understand. And now...I don't give a damn about that. All I care about is achieving my own goals," Izaya said.

"Damn, mate, you sound like you'd belong in Slytherin, Izaya."

"Yes, I would, but I have no urge to return to that world. You see, when I was hit by idiotic Ron, he may have slightly given me a concussion and skewed my morals...so now I'm a tad insane..." He said.

"Us, too. We've found we prefer the Muggle world. By the way, who's the grumpy blond guy back there, Har-er, Izaya?"

"That's Shizu-chan. He's just an idiot. He's made it his goal to kill me ever since we met."

"Ah, another Voldemort, huh?"

Izaya just smirked. "You could say so."

"And don't worry, Izaya, we won't tell anyone that you survived, because we-"

"Don't want Dumbledore to use you again."

"That old man's no fun to be around, but he hasn't given up. Poor Hermione, she's stuck with Ron," Fred complained.

"And he's treating her like dirt."

"I always knew he was a good-for-nothing," Izaya scoffed.

"Hey, he's still our brother, but you're right. He's quite an idiot."

"Yes, quite the idiot," Izaya said.

"I have to say, we like this new Harry better than the old one!" George exclaimed.

"That's good to know," Izaya remarked. "Very good to know."

"So how can we help you in your devious plans, Izaya?"

"Well, even if you two aren't going to spread the secret, I would like it if you two sent a message to that old fart...tell him that he cannot fool around with his little tricks any longer...or else, pull a few pranks in his office."

"Will do," They chanted.

"Did you know Bellatrix has been trying to kill us?"

"_That _crazy old bitch?" Izaya stifled a yawn. "I read about her when I first obtained some letters from Hedwig for a while."

"Where _is_ Hedwig, by the way?"

"She's with my adopted sisters, Mairu and Kururi. We don't get along because I was an adopted sibling. They're basically like a clone copy of you two."

"We'd like to meet your sisters," Fred and George chanted.

"I just knew you two would get along," Izaya chirped.

"Even if you don't call yourself Harry Potter anymore, you're still the Harry we trusted, but you're different now. You're more devious!"

"Indeed, there's a lot more to be said for pulling stunts on people. Shizu-chan is really fun to provoke, so maybe you two could do me a favor...?"

"Will do..." They said and disappeared.

"I know full well that I can trust them. But what about the others?" He said. He paused as he saw Mikado, Masaomi, and Anri were walking home together.

"Did you see that, Mikado? I could've sworn those people just vanished in a flash of light!"

"You must've just imagined that, Masaomi," Mikado said.

Instantly, Masaomi froze upon seeing Izaya, as did Mikado.

'Ah, if it isn't the true face of Mikado Ryuugamine,' Izaya thought, upon seeing the boy's face go cold.

"What are **you **doing here, Izaya?" Masaomi said in a cold voice.

"Oh, nothing, really, Kida-kun, just looking around. You?"

"Up to no good again, I see," Masaomi remarked.

"My, my, you mustn't say things like that. Saki-san has been asking about you, you know."

As he predicted, Kida's eyes grew wide. "Don't you dare hurt her."

"She wants to see you so badly and yet you won't visit her."

"Masaomi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing...let's go, Mikado..."

Mikado left, but not before casting an interested stare at Izaya.

'Oh, well...I know full well that I'm not liked...this just increases the fun!'


	3. Chapter 3 From Harry to Izaya

**A/N:well, now it's time for us to take a look into Izaya's past and see how and why he went to Japan and was taken in by his new adopted family, the Oriharas. Flashback time, be warned. :D THANKS FOR 39 FOLLOWS! It is most appreciated. Editing time.  
**

A/N:well, now it's time for us to take a look into Izaya's past and see how and why he went to Japan and was taken in by his new adopted family, the Oriharas. Flashback time, be warned. :D THANKS FOR 39 FOLLOWS! It is most appreciated.

~Three From Harry to Izaya~

"All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy."-Alan Moore, Batman.

-Nine years ago, through Orihara Izaya's memories-

Harry just sat on his bed, shaking in utter fear, unable to believe what he had just heard. His best friends...Hermione and Ron, no, he should call them his former friends-or traitors...had pretended to like him and had really hated him this entire time...all those times he'd spent with them really meant nothing to them? What was _wrong_ with them?

They honestly, seriously, wanted to kill him, just for existing, just for playing their little puppet game with him and then they wanted to cut his strings.

Had the times he'd spent with them meant so little to them that they'd honestly repay him with a gaping head wound?

As Harry thought over these thoughts, tears of utter heartbreak streamed down his face, falling on the bed and leaving it wet. He didn't bother to hide his sadness...no one was in here, anyway...he was alone.

The more he thought about things...the more everything he had been taught by Dumbledore seemed to be a falsehood, a complete and utter lie...had everyone played him for a fool this entire time? And he had been stupid enough to believe the crap from the start.

The only people who had been honest enough to admit they hated him were his aunt and uncle, and he had to give them credit for that. They had been right about this depraved little world after all...he just wished he had given them more credit.

Prejudiced though the Dursleys may be, they had merely warned him about the dangers that lay ahead.

He had been optimistic, like the foolish child he had been.

He should have known from the start that everything was fake, like Ron turning on him so easily, the school spreading rumors about him, the Headmaster doing nothing to help him fight off Voldemort until he was injured or near-death, and the teachers doing nothing to stop the bullying he'd endured from both Snape and Malfoy.

'Can I go out into the world and tell them how they act? Can I teach them a lesson for their ignorance?' He thought, but the more he reflected on it, the angrier he became...he felt his head and noticed there was a wicked scar trailing down from the top of his head to his forehead. He would have to deal with another scar for the rest of his life, thanks to his goddamned friend.

Anger filled the young wizard's heart as it never had before...pure, unbridled hatred for other wizards filled his heart. 'Return...to the Dursleys? There's no way I'm going back there. I'm going to make my own destiny. I won't let that old fart control me anymore,' He thought, clenching his fists so hard his knuckles turned white.

'Aren't you naive? Let me say this to you: you've finally snapped out of the lie. No one really cared about you to begin with, so why should you care about what happens to this world, anyway? If I were you, I would say to hell with everyone else and take care of myself first. Survival is the most important thing, Harry Potter.'

'I can't...Dumbledore will find me,' He whispered in his mind. A sharp idea struck his brain then.

'*sigh* Okay, do you want the alternative, then? Do you want to be used as a puppet by a disgusting old man and continue being used and lied to and then disposed of like garbage? Do you want that girl to just use you to make kids and then become a vegetable with no memories of yourself, or would you...rather live as an individual in the regular world, where you can make a new name for yourself...It's your choice.'

'I want...to live...as an individual.'

'Good~ first lesson; just trust your conscience and start examining everything from a distance. Don't form relationships with people now. They'll just use you and throw you away...why don't you start off by getting rid of Harry Potter? Run away...and leave this cruel world behind. Destroy your magic.' The voice whispered.

'Okay,' Harry thought reluctantly. He picked up his wand with trembling fingers, remembering all the good times he had experienced with it. "I'm sorry...but this is for the best," He whispered, snapping it in half with a satisfying crunch, but tears flowed down his face anyway. He felt his magic leaving him...but he wasn't completely powerless. He felt strangely energized, somehow...he stood up...and looked out at the window. He knew what he must do.

He took a piece of parchment and took his quill, writing in a formal and cold tone that was rather unlike that of someone his age. It was more like the words of someone who had lived for so much longer and had lost his innocence. Yes, he had matured tremendously, against his will. As of now, he was no longer the Boy-Who-Lived. He would leave this wretched place, and become free.

The thought filled him with joy as he opened the window and leapt out, landing in the lake. His head hurt him, but he continued to ignore the pain, knowing that he had to survive. Nothing else mattered at the moment. 

* * *

He didn't know how many months had passed, nor did he care at all to know.

He didn't know how long he'd been walking...his legs were sore...he was hungry...but he didn't care...he just wanted to live...he didn't give a damn about how the wizards were desperately looking for their "savior." In fact, he'd started giving less of a regard to what people thought of him at all, rather he'd started to think of them as both disgusting and fascinating individuals.

He cowered in a train station, watching some people lazily...just watching them. He'd developed that habit lately. He had broken his glasses because they were too recognizable and had tried to adjust to using his regular vision. It turned out his vision wasn't that bad, but he still couldn't live without glasses, unless of course he used some sort of Muggle-no, human surgery to fix that.

His black hair had grown longer and shaggier, spikier, as well...almost long enough to cover his scar. As he sat there, watching the ever fascinating humans, he thought he saw a young boy with blond-brown hair looking at him in curiosity. He had golden eyes, how odd.

Harry just ignored him. Rather, lately he had started to think of himself as someone with no name, just an individual who stood out among the rest of society. Harry Potter was a name belonging to a dead man, a lost puppet; it was merely a name for a sap. This new boy had no need for that name. But he had no other name to go by yet...

'Screw wizards,' He thought. 'I'll just let Voldemort have his way. I should send him a notice, too,' He thought and the thought made him grin rather wickedly, something that would not have been on 'Harry Potter's' face...he snuck on board the train, and knew where he was heading...he was headed, away from England...to where, exactly?

He needed to go somewhere far away from England. His eye color and scar and accent were a dead giveaway. Somewhere where he could disappear.

He looked around, and noticed two girls talking excitedly. Curious, he listened in closely.

"You know, I heard Japan is a really nice place to see. Especially Ikebukuro, what with the Blue Squares, and gangsters...it's scary to see all that violence. I hope I don't run into any of those criminals while I'm there," The girl whined.

"Who knows how many people there are runaways hiding from the law like cowards? I heard it's easy to change your name there." The other one whispered. "Who the hell would want to run away like that?"

'Harry' felt nothing but a cold hatred and a calm, cool air overcome him. He didn't care anymore. However, he did feel a need to educate these ignorant morons about their stupidity. "How do you know, foolish girls?" He said coolly, though still with his damned British accent. 'First things, first, I need to change my accent and fast. That'll be a dead giveaway. I need to learn Japanese...and a bunch of other languages...if I wish to stay away from the Magical World. Then I need to find someone to take me in...and then I need to change my appearance and my name.'

"What a jerk!" The girl huffed. "You must think you're all that, kid. Who do you think you are?"

"No," He said coldly. "I've just realized the entire world doesn't revolve around you and your self-centered melodrama. So why don't you shut the hell up and think for once? Some of us would like to hear some intelligent thoughts."

Somehow, he sounded like Malfoy...yet, putting others down suddenly felt so damned good. He had power...he wasn't a damned fool anymore.

"Buzz off, kid," The girl said dismissively. Harry felt a cold anger surge through him as he hit her in the face. Everyone else gasped upon seeing her fall to the floor. "Shut the hell up, you ignorant human. Just looking at you pisses me off."

From the rest of the trip on, no one spoke to Harry anymore. He didn't give a damn anymore...

Japan proved to be no easy task...the majority of people wouldn't even give him a second glance...so Harry had to navigate things on his own...that was, until he saw an ad in the paper asking for "people to help with business deals."

Harry realized, then, that this was his big chance. He started his work with the Japanese yakuza, at first anonymously, through learning how to use the Internet, and then he met with them in person.

"How old are you, kid?" They asked.

"...Fifteen."

"You running away from something? Any way we can help?" They asked.

"I need a way to change my accent and my appearance, as soon as possible...if I do these jobs for you, will you show me how?"

A smirk crossed the man's face. "You've got the right stuff for a criminal, kid. What's your name, huh?"

Harry froze. "Ha-" He began and then stopped. Should he even call himself that anymore? It was the name of a weak, disgusting wimp. It was the name of a dead man. Not him.

He struggled to think of something in his mind...until a name came to his mind...he recalled Petunia reading to Dudley stories from the Bible...stories about prophets...he recalled one in particular...named Isaiah.

'He knew mysteries about humankind...he was above humans, yet at the same time one of them. Well, I don't believe in mysteries...I'll discard magic...Isaiah...what about Isa-ya? ..._Izaya_...? That's _perfect_. It's the right name. It's Japanese.'

A smirk crawled up his face. "...It's Izaya. Pleasure doing business with you..." He said gleefully.

And so, Izaya Orihara was born...

* * *

Sure enough, true to their word, the yakuza started teaching Harry, or as he now went by, Izaya, Japanese...and Harry picked it up rather quickly. Two years went by and by the time he was seventeen, he already sounded like a Japanese person and his British accent was slowly fading.

They had also allowed him to change his appearance. First, he had let his hair grow out and refused to brush it, so it would become messier and less recognizable. Second, he grew it out enough so that it would hide both his scars...and then he had surgery to hide the lightning bolt scar. It worked.

Finally, he decided he should undergo surgery to make him look more Asian, and once that was finished, he decided to get rid of his glasses and go for contacts, instead. Red contacts. Harry, no, _Izaya_, the cold-blooded criminal, enjoyed that idea.

Already, word was spreading through the underground of a dangerous new criminal who killed with no remorse. Izaya did everything he could-he blackmailed, he smuggled drugs, he swindled people out of their money, gambled, stole things for people, stole things for himself, and even killed people.

He kidnapped people before, too. In the beginning, he left them alive...but by the time he was eighteen, Izaya had lost his capacity to show mercy and instead tortured them as much as possible and then killed them. His criminal buddies were both impressed and frightened by his bloodthirsty ways.

When all of this was going on, Izaya had managed to sign himself up for a high school called Raira Academy. He had been adopted by a family with two little girls and officially took on the name, Orihara Izaya.

Life was good...for the first time in his life, he was not scorned, laughed at, or mocked. People knew who he was, and they showed him the respect he deserved. Izaya completely lost any sense of morals he had once possessed once enough time had passed. He had also lost his mind due to the psychosis brought on by Ron's assault to him on the head.

He didn't care. Insane or not, he was able to do things his way now, and that was more satisfying than he could care to admit. Then he met Shinra, someone just as fascinating as he was. Though Shinra had this annoying habit of asking too many questions.

"Izaya-kun, your accent sounds like a foreigner's." Shinra remarked, "Are you sure you're not-"

"I assure you, I'm a native Japanese," Izaya said.

Shinra hadn't been convinced, but nonetheless he had dropped the subject.

Then Shizuo came into the picture, and Izaya's ideal life took a turn for the worse. The man had no damned self-control and liked to make his life hell. However, Izaya was no longer the weak, scrawny, skinny boy he had been while he had been Dumbledore's pawn. He had gained muscle after years of being trained by criminals.

Then he discovered Masaomi Kida, and Celty, and Mikado-kun, and then his game began. But now, how would he do it, he thought, as he spun around in his chair? Severus-kun knew, that blasted fool, and he would not hold his tongue. Izaya knew from experience that the man hated his guts...all it would take was a little persuasion...

He could trust the Weasley twins, after all. At first, Hermione and Ron had sent him letters by owl regularly, begging and pleading him to come back. He had almost been tempted to answer them, but refused, remembering what they had said to him. Eventually, Ron stopped writing, though Hermione did so for almost a year before she quit. Dumbledore wouldn't stop, either. He finally stopped when Izaya was sixteen and two years had passed without any of his bait-and-switch letters being answered.

One day, he was reading the Daily Prophet in his office...when he came across an article that just_ cracked_ him up. It was written by one Rita Skeeter.

_**"Boy-who-lived...where did he go and why did he leave? Savior of the Wizarding World has been gone for nearly nine long years." By Rita Skeeter:**_

_**Nine years have passed since the disappearance of Mr. Harry James Potter, age 14, the orphaned child of James and Lily Potter. He disappeared after being selected for the Triwizard Tournament and despite extensive searches made up until two years ago, he has not been found. No one knows what happened to the poor boy.**_

_**We talked to Albus Dumbledore for his opinion on this mysterious boy.**_

_**"IT is truly a pity that Harry disappeared. We need him to win this war. I have a strong hunch that he's still alive," He said.**_

_**"Even though so much time has passed? He must be dead by now. No one can hide for that long, Albus," I said.**_

_**"I can tell...Harry cannot escape his destiny as the hero of the Wizarding World."**_

_**Mr. Cornelius Fudge refused to comment, but one Mrs. Molly Weasley was willing to come forward.**_

_**"I'm saddened that Harry left our side. We were so good to him. He did nothing but scorn our friendship and love. Ginny was going to marry him and everything would be good." Molly said scornfully.**_

_**Ronald Weasley has this to say about his former best friend. "I can't believe that coward up and left us. We needed him and the bloody git turned his back on us. What a coward. I hope he's dead or suffering for his crimes. We can never forgive him."**_

_**Rumors have stated that before Mr. Potter vanished, he got into a violent argument with Mr. Ronald Weasley that ended with Ronald hitting Mr. Potter with his wand. The last time the boy was seen alive...he was lying in Hogwarts' hospital bed, with a head injury. His head injury was reported to be a bad concussion and Hogwarts fears the boy may have become brain-damaged. They expect that he probably suffered some sort of mental breakdown and ran away out of guilt for not living up to his expectations. I, too, am disappointed in Mr. Potter. I wonder if he will read this article and fess up.**_

_**Rita Skeeter**_

Izaya laughed hysterically. The twenty-two year old man cut out the parchment and slowly, but surely...folded it up and wrote, in neat, slow ink...in a handwriting that was deliberately not his former self's, but rather in a cold and robotic tone:

"Dear Ms. Rita Skeeter,

I read your article, and to be honest, I am ashamed that you would publish such disgusting garbage about a dead child. What do you care if he died? You only published this article to become famous. As a reader of your work, I am sorely disappointed. Who knew the writer who is world-famous for her excellent work was actually a lying bitch? I might just have to spread this little mistake of yours all over. By tomorrow, the whole world will know what you have done. Enjoy your years of future ostracism, human scum.

-Signed, Nakura-san

Smirking, Izaya read over the furious reply he had gotten back. Hedwig hooted beside him. Izaya smirked and stroked his friend. "We don't have to worry about them anymore. Go to my little sisters. You don't have to bring me any news from them anymore. It'll arouse suspicion."

Hedwig looked disappointed, but nonetheless obeyed her master and went to his little sisters, who were both surprised and delighted with their new pet. He told them a little white lie, and told them magic really existed. To his delight, they believed every word of it.

He noticed a new message on his phone. He brought it up and looked at the name: PranksterMaster. The message was simple: it asked Izaya how he was. Carefully, Izaya typed out a reply, telling him he was all right and that they should be more careful.

After all, he did not want his secret to be revealed to more people. He was sure that Masaomi had already noticed something strange about him.

"Fancy meeting you again, Izaya," He spat.

"Come now, Kida-kun, I just wanted to visit. What do you think of betrayal?"

"Betrayal? Like what you do to others on a daily basis?" Masaomi spat.

"Your anger is quite rousing. But...it's one of the most depraved things you can do...yet it also opens up your naive mind to reality. Humans cannot be trusted. They'll just use you until you're nothing..." He whispered.

"What are you saying, Izaya?" Masaomi said, wondering what secrets the man was hiding beneath that twisted smile.

"Ta-ta, Masaomi-kun. I have some friends to meet up with."

Smirking, he walked into Russia Sushi, and spotted two brunettes sitting together at a table, with familiar blue eyes. They waved him over as he smirked and sat down.

"Izaya, how's it going?" Fred snapped, assaulting his former friend with questions. The boy flinched.

"Keep a better profile. I'm lying low, like I always do. In the past eight years, I've resigned myself to doing despicable deeds, you know. I've gambled, blackmailed, played pranks on others, terrorized them for fun..."

Fred and George shivered slightly.

"WHY would you...?"

"I even killed a few people every now and again. They wanted to die...they just got their wishes granted, is all. What? Now that I think about it, he did have the right mindset...Moldywart, that is. Power is the only way to be certain of anything." Izaya stated.

"Man, you're scary. You've lost your mind. But it's oddly fascinating."

"Indeed it is. Severus-kun won't be telling a soul, thanks to a friend of mine." Izaya whispered. 


	4. Chapter 4 Gambit

**A/N:This is probably the first time I have had so many ideas for a story at once! I'm so excited~ After this, Alchemist's reincarnation and the End of Everything will be updated, too. You can probably expect an update for Ghosts from another life within the next few days, as well as something for Osananajimi. Oh, and sorry for the slight error...when I said eight years later, I should have meant nine, since Izaya is fourteen when he runs away from his old life and twenty-three in the beginning of DRRR! So I'll have to fix some stuff up. Sorry about that. Izaya's true age in-series is probably in his twenties, and I'd say he probably did all sorts of shady and illicit things in order to become an 'information broker.' I wouldn't put murder past him, either, from his callous disregard for life. Nonetheless, the idea of a psychopathic, murdering person like Izaya being the Boy-who-lived was both very tantalizing, but also rather implausible...until you consider in canon, you never see his parents, besides his little sisters. Reason why they hate him? He's their adopted brother in this version. In-series, they're as screwed up as Izaya. XD I wonder what his parents are like. I'm scared to find out, though I wonder if they could be the Joker and Shion Sonozaki. **

**Four Gambit**

* * *

Hermione raised a brow ever-so-slightly at the newest text message she had gotten from the man named 'Nakura-san,' who had texted her at least _ten_ times during the past few days, which had become quite grating for Ron to live with, but she had told him off by telling him that she had every right to answer such calls. Just because she had married him did not mean that she _completely_ became his tool, day and night.

**Do you remember the monster in Frankenstein?**

_**'Yes, I read the book a long time ago, by Mary Shelley. Why is that of any importance?' **_

**Hmm...don't you remember how the monster was treated by his creator? The monster was shown very little kindness and sympathy, instead being treated as nothing more than a tool for his purposes. Eventually, the monster snapped and decided to become as inhuman as people treated him and eventually destroyed his creator. **

_'__**I suppose...but what does that have to do with me?' **_

**I suppose I ~just~ wanted to see your knowledge of contemporary literature, Granger-san. You're as superb as I expected you to be. Tell me more about your life...I might be able to extract you from such a **_**terrible **_**situation. **

**'**_**To be honest, living with Ron Weasley is not so bad, Nakura-san. Let's just say we don't normally use technology, much less internet or cell phones.'**_

The reply came back, only it wasn't in bold, instead it was in italic, and what she read there both amused and startled her. How had he _known_ this? It said, in taunting letters: '_So you live with Amish people, then, Granger-san? I presume you'll tell me next they use sticks in everyday living and give people love potions without their knowledge. What other fantastic tales of fantasy could you possibly tell me?' _

Hermione hesitated. '**Well, Ron is a wizard. That's to be expected, isn't it? The way you talk, it's as if you've seen wizards yourself.' **

Nakura-san texted back a few moments later: '_Witches, wizards...what garbage. Such things do not exist. Your husband must be delusional, Granger-san, in which case, I definitely pity you. So, will he go to the psych ward any time soon? Do you honestly believe such nonsense can be real?' _

She froze at the sudden, cruel gibe he had thrown at her. He hadn't acted like this before, and it scared her to see the normally nice and easygoing texter (whoever he was) send her something this twisted. It was as if he enjoyed messing with people's minds or something as twisted as that.

'_**No, what I'm saying is the truth, Nakura-san. Why won't you believe me?' **_

'_You really are a fool, aren't you? Magic...is illusion, nothing more than sophisticated parlor tricks designed to fool the plebeians who can't seem to think with their minds. Nonetheless, I can certainly understand why you would come to the defense of your delusional husband. How very typical...' _

The underlying message here was something remarkably cruel and sadistic, sent from someone who liked to have a good laugh out of twisting others to suit their own needs. Anger filled her being as she sent another text message to Nakura-san, only to get no response. She suddenly saw a phone number listed in one of his texts and dialed the number.

"Error, sorry but the number you are trying to find does not exist. Please try again," A soft female electronic voice said over the other line.

Hermione gritted her teeth together. _Who_ the hell _was _Nakura-san? Why had he (she had a strong suspicion it was a male from the way he talked in his texts, and was certainly one of conceivable arrogance, that much was certain,) decided to text her in the first place? He had said he'd found her number 'by accident.' How had he located her, and why?

She suspected he was Japanese, since he often used a lot of Japanese words in his conversations with her. However, he could be a foreigner who had learned Japanese and was passing himself off as one. Either of the two seemed likely. But this person was someone who seemed to be like Voldemort, a complete sadist who enjoyed toying with others' lives like they were nothing but pawns in a chess game.

Could it have been Voldemort using her like a tool? No, most wizards had no knowledge of electronic things, much less 'inferior' muggle technology, and most would deem it unworthy of being looked at without a second glance. What if this person was a wizard? She highly doubted it, given how Nakura-san had dismissed her claims in an instant. He was evidently a muggle who liked to ridicule others.

"Mione, you won't believe this...look at this article. Rita Skeeter...the world-renowned writer in the Wizarding World...she's been _murdered_," Ron said, his face ashen as he placed a newspaper in front of her, showing a moving picture of some wizards crowding around a corpse that lay, unmoving, on the ground.

"Rita Skeeter...the famous writer for the Daily Prophet, has been found dead today, in, of all places, Tokyo, Japan. It's unknown as to why the writer was there in the first place, but she has been estimated to be dead for at least a day. Wizards have detected no usage of any spells of any kind and no magic was found at the scene. However, Miss Skeeter had cuts on her shoulder with a sharp blade and a knife wound was also found on her temple. It is implied that we believe her to have been savagely tortured and then murdered with muggle weapons, not a wand. Death Eaters are reported to be behind the attacks, but the investigation will continue-" Hermione read, and felt sick to her stomach the more she read.

"Who would do such a _disgusting thing?" _Ron said. "Someone like Malfoy?"

"Ron, Malfoy lives here, in England. He wouldn't be in Japan. Besides, they said it might have been Death Eaters who killed her. It's possible that they obtained muggle weaponry from someone. I think the person who killed her was a muggle."

Ron scoffed. "Muggles can't murder a wizard. We're superior to them in every possible way."

"They've got snipers, artillery, grenades, drones and bombs...not to mention surveillance and wiretapping. Face it, Ron, if the Muggles ever do decide to attack, we're dead meat. A drone is a plane that flies over an area and drops explosives. In 1945, the Muggles used a bomb on Japan and the bomb annihilated the entire area in an instant. It wiped out everything. Tell me if Voldemort can do that." Hermione said sharply.

"Who cares? We're better than they are. They can't live without us. Oww!" He cried, glaring at an owl that had just flown in. He recognized it. It was an envelope from Fred and George. He opened it carefully, only to be besieged by several ugly black tarantulas as they crawled out of it and onto his legs.

'Dear Brother, we have been in Japan for a little while and we have found no luck. No wizards seem to be around here, so we've just amused ourselves by harassing Muggles. Did you know there's a man who can snap a wand in half with his bare hands and he's a Muggle? He's Shizuo...er, Shitsuo...no, it was Shizuo Hecklejima or something. Whatever. Anyway, we wanted to share with you some rare spiders we found courtesy of an anonymous donor who wishes to help us with our business. We will be headed back to England as soon as possible and look forward to seeing you. We'll send you a couple of toilet seats, too, Ronnie-kins.'

"Ron, why would they do this?" Hermione said in shock, reading over the letter's contents in complete and utter disbelief. Why were they in Japan to begin with?

* * *

The next day, she met Luna Lovegood out on the street.

"Hello, Hermione. Have you found the prophet yet?"

"What prophet?" She asked, in confusion, "Do you mean Rita Skeeter's murder in the Daily Prophet?"

Luna repeated, "Have you found the prophet? He's the one that will bring death and destruction to the world. You should also be warned of old men, they could be murderers in disguise and liars. I highly suggest avoiding Dumbledore, Hermione. Poor Neville, now he has to be the surrogate Boy-who-lived. I think that's a stupid title, don't you?" With that, Luna left, leaving a puzzled Hermione to ponder over her weird message.

"What on earth does that mean? I can't grasp what that girl's thinking at times. Prophet...what does it mean if it doesn't have to do with the Daily Prophet? And who murdered Rita Skeeter? Why would she be visiting Japan in the first place?" She said out loud.

She wondered if Harry was really dead. It was true that neither hide nor hair of him had been seen or heard of since he had run away from his hospital room. They estimated that he'd jumped out the window, and then swam away in the lake, indicated by his magic signature...until it mysteriously faded somewhere between Hogwarts and the regular world. Where would he have gone? Surely not the Muggle world. Harry hated the Muggle world, she knew that much. He wasn't at the Dursleys. He wasn't at Grimmauld Place, nor was he at the Burrow.

Could it really be possible that he had simply run away and joined the Muggles, hiding amongst them? Almost a decade had passed since his disappearance, and still Hermione found herself thinking about him. Had Dumbledore been right when he said that Harry was still alive? If so, where was he?

Her mind drifted back to the man called Nakura. Who was he, and why had he bothered to talk to her in the first place? He was a complete and total stranger.

'_You are smart, just like you always were.' _

Always were? He sounded like he knew her. But that was impossible. Hermione sighed as she decided to look over some things in the local wizard library. There was one talking about super strength, one talking about something in the Muggle world called the "Dollars," and other various things.

Hermione preferred to spend most of her time away from home. She could clearly see now that marrying Ron had been a horrible mistake. He treated her like she was less than he was and was abusive to her in private. She wondered why she had never seen the cruel side of him before...then she remembered how Ron had distanced himself from Harry in the tournament, how he had accused her of killing his rat, how he had been the one to call her a nightmare in first year, and realization washed over her.

He had always been this mean, it was just stopped by the kindness of Harry. It was true that both of them had been assigned to be his friends and his spies to report back to Dumbledore, but she had developed genuine feelings of amity for him and as such was heavily disgusted with Ron for beating him up. She had assumed that, despite them going behind Harry's back, that both of them had completely liked Harry. Harry was hard _not to like. _

Even Malfoy had come up to her recently, asking if she knew where Harry was. He was bored and missed their old banter between each other. She had replied no, and noticed that he looked strangely sad. Almost like he had actually liked the boy, too.

* * *

The Weasley family...was oddly smothering, and not in a good way. Molly seemed to exert lots of control over what she and Ron did, who they met, and Arthur seemed ever more unaware of their activity. Percy had not resumed contact with them, but he had written them back, saying he was happy about their refusal to take Harry back if he ever showed up.

Percy was traveling abroad, doing business for the Ministry, and he had written them several times in the past year.

Hermione had always seen Ron and Harry as her friends. Never anything more. That was why she wondered why she had even bothered to marry him if she only saw their relationship as a platonic one.

She knew why now. She was sick of the tight grip the Wizarding World had on its residents. It never wanted them to leave its quaint little world, it never wanted them to see the outside world again. How could she have been so foolish? Harry had been right. Wherever he was now, he was surely much happier than he had ever been while at Hogwarts. She couldn't recall a year at Hogwarts that had not been filled with misery for Harry.

* * *

Poor Harry...she wished she could have done more to help him, then perhaps he wouldn't have run away...or be dead...what if he was still alive? Would he even want to come back and forgive her? At this point, her cell phone sent her a new text:

_**Hello there, Granger-san. I wonder if you're ready to play my new game. It's quite entertaining, really. You tell me about your make-believe world and I'll laugh at you. How's that sound? **_

_Screw off, Nakura-san. I need to find my friend Harry and apologize to him for the way he was treated. _

_**Who might this Harry person be? If he was wronged by you all, don't you think he has every right to leave? After all, that's how most of you humans are, you derive pleasure from tormenting others. **_

_How could you possibly understand how it felt to lose a best friend there and then? _

_**Playing melodramatic princess now, are we? Aren't you a tragic little damsel?! Well, your play acting may fool some people, but it won't fool me, princess. If your friend was smart, he'd probably never forgive you. Now, tell me what you did to him. **_

_My best friend hit him on the head and I begged him to stop when he passed out. I was being an immature brat at the time and complained about being friends with Harry because basically I was spying on him and betraying his trust, something that ate away at me. I couldn't stand it anymore and was going to tell him all about it when Ron prevented me from doing anything by starting a fight with him. Then he was gone before I could even explain._

_**...**_

Hermione blinked upon seeing nothing but several dots. What would his reaction be to this? She was telling a complete and utter stranger about this event.

* * *

Izaya stared at the text on the screen, unable to believe his eyes. She honestly felt _bad _about what she'd done to him? He totally had not heard her cry for Ron to stop hitting him and beating him up for something that wasn't his damned fault to begin with. Either she was lying and pretending to feel bad about it, or else she was regretful.

Izaya did the only thing he could do, he laughed hysterically and typed out his laughter...unable to believe what he saw before him, he decided that this must be some form of cruel, twisted joke. They had turned _their _backs on him and they expected _him _to return back there so he could become their victim again? Hell no.

He smirked upon seeing Hermione's response. "I knew that would freak you out."

"W-What is this?" She gasped.

* * *

**"**_**HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! THAT'S GOT TO BE THE FUNNIEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD! YOUR DESCRIPTION OF HIM BLEEDING ON THE FLOOR WAS HYSTERICAL, I THINK MY STOMACH IS HURTING FROM LAUGHTER! SO, DID HE DIE OR WHAT? TELL ME WHETHER OR NOT HE DIED." **_

'_W-What's wrong with you? Don't you have a heart at all? My lies got my best friend killed." _

_**"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! I GUESS I WON'T GET TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT HE DIES. WHAT A PITY. I SUPPOSE I'M DONE USING YOU TODAY, SO GOODBYE. IT WAS FUN GETTING TO SCREW WITH YOUR MIND." **_

Hermione felt sweat drip down her forehead. She had literally been scared to death by this...person...this disturbingly insane person who had told her, in so little words that he didn't care about her and was just using her because he was bored. It was like speaking to Voldemort...no, it was even worse.

* * *

Izaya laughed hysterically on the other end. "This has got to be the best day of my life! I learn she actually feels _sorry and whines to me about what she did? _I don't give a damn, anyway. I don't care what happens to her anymore. She can go die for all I care."

He spun around in his chair, laughing hysterically. "I'm best all alone! Ah, humanity, what interesting puppets you all are! I'm going to enjoy every last bit of this! Indeed, I will!"

A malicious smirk crossed his face then as he stared at the knife he held that was covered with fresh, red blood. "I already _enjoyed_ ending your life, Miss Rita Skeeter. Who should I go after next? I get bored. I need new targets to play with."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:It's time for the next update. This time, we see Izaya reflect on his childhood and how he turned out. Not only that, he decides to send a little message to his old "family", the Dursleys. There will be some character death, but not much. I mean, who'll mourn the Dursleys? **

* * *

**Five: **A surprise visit from the demon of Ikebukuro

Izaya frowned as he texted Hermione again, only to get no response back. Except a very familiar texter wrote out an angry message to him that said:

**'**_I don't know how this muggle technology works, but stay away from Hermione.'_

_**Ooh, you're the protective boyfriend! How scary~. I should be applauding you for your one-dimensional performance, shouldn't I? **_

_You jerk, just stay away from her, you stupid muggle. _

_**She's told me ALL-ABOUT-YOU-Mr. overprotective boyfriend. You also abuse her.**_

* * *

Izaya smirked upon receiving no response back. "Looks like this round is mine, Ronnie-kins...ickle Ronnie-kins is as inferior as ever," He mumbled as he took his knife and washed the blood off of it.

"Orihara, why is there blood on that knife?" Namie demanded.

"I did away with someone and the blood just got there by accident," Izaya said lightheartedly while whistling a merry little tune.

"Whatever, just get rid of the evidence," She said dismissively.

"I'll leave you to do that, Miss Namie Yagiri-san," Izaya chirped. Upon hearing her growl in frustration, he merely sighed and continued his whistling, having long since disposed of any evidence that he had been there at all. His memories of her final moments still played in his mind.

She had not even known the cold-hearted "demon," as she called him in her final moments, had been the once innocent boy she had slandered so often in her newspapers. That boy was dead, Izaya said to himself as he finished rinsing the knife off. He looked at his slender fingers...and then he put the knife away.

Every now and again, his magic would act up to help him, but he suppressed it, for fear of the Ministry finding him. For every person had a unique magical core attached to them-and even if their wand was snapped in half, it still functioned and kept the magical person alive. Izaya even suspected that good old Shizu-chan had some magical tendencies-as evidenced by his ability to survive things most people couldn't-or maybe he was just a Super Saiyan, as they called it on that anime show Izaya sometimes watched when he was bored and had nothing to do.

He was pretty sure the Wizarding World was managing just fine without their 'golden boy' there to help them...he was no one's tool to begin with. His fists tightened slightly on the blade he was holding tenderly. He quickly stopped doing that. Sighing, he thought over his old life and his mind came back to rest on the topic of Privet Drive. He wondered whether or not his loving 'family' had changed. 'If I'm not there, Dumbass probably erased their memories of me. I wonder if he'd do the same to me, to make me his pawn once more.'

A smirk crawled up his face as he had a new text, from one Ron Weasley. "You're still as jealous as ever, Ron-kun. Nothing much has changed there, eh?"

**Damn you. Stay away from us. Do I make myself clear? **

_**Aha ha! You are so clever. Nope, you bore me to death.**_


	6. Chapter 6 Izaya's plans

**A/N:Well, time for the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. I'm sorry for the short chapter...this chapter will be much longer, I guarantee you!**

**Chapter Six Izaya's new plan**

* * *

Nine years had passed since the people living at Privet Drive had forgotten about the existence of the magical world, and of magical people themselves, but still the place had not changed one bit since the departure of the wicked Dumbledore. Vernon and Petunia still lived in the same, bland old house, with their son, Dudley, who was now working a part-time job and had a girlfriend, incredibly.

Vernon and Dudley were unaware of the fact that they had ever lived with a magical child, abused a magical child, and did not even think about the idea that their minds were tampered with, because they simply didn't have enough willpower to not forget something they wanted to not remember in the first place, and who could blame them?

There was one who could not forget, and that was Petunia Dursley. How could she ever forget about the existence of her beloved sister and of her wretched nephew? That wicked man had honestly told her to forget that her sister had ever existed, for 'the sake of her own happiness.' How dare he tamper with her mind! That was so unacceptable that Petunia simply refused to let herself forget, and it worked. The memories of Lily, James, and their son, Harry, did not vanish from her mind, but rather retreated to the back of her mind, so she could think about other, more important things, like raising her little Duddy-kins and supporting him in every way she could.

She didn't miss the freak all that much-well, she would be lying if she said some small part of her didn't-she missed him to a small degree, but not very much, not enough that she missed his presence in her life. He had brought nothing but trouble to their house from the time he had been born-he had disappeared and was most likely dead.

Wait, according to what that old idiot had told her just before he had wiped Vernon's and Dudley's minds, he had said that the freak had snapped his wand in half, which meant that he had no magic. He had become a muggle, which meant that perhaps their ways had rubbed off onto Harry at last and he had hence become a better person.

A smirk crawled up her face. "Good for you, boy," She whispered. "You've given up your freakish ways for good."

That didn't mean that she still didn't hate him. She just admired how brave it was for him to throw in the towel before he died, like her sister had. If only Lily had been smart enough to destroy her wand and sever her ties to that wicked world, then she would still have a sister to talk to, a sister with a normal husband, and not one who believed their kind to be inferior.

But alas, the past was the past, and what happened could not be changed. She didn't know where her nephew was, nor what he was doing now and of course, she didn't care to know. She hated any mention of that word magic even more than before, because she knew now that they had been cowardly enough to erase her memories of one person-simply because they lost him and couldn't own up to their mistakes.

What cowards they were. Even thinking about them made her angry. She bit her lip slightly, causing blood to trickle down her face. She wiped it away with her hand.

"Pet, what's wrong?" Vernon asked, her kind, loving husband who also had no tolerance for anything magical looking into her eyes with concern. "Are you all right?"

Petunia snapped herself out of her reverie. "I'm just fine, Vernon. I know full well that we have nothing to worry about anymore. Dudders is doing fine on his own now, isn't he?"

Vernon smiled at her. "Say, Pet, you ever wonder if there are...unnatural things out there?"

Petunia frowned at him. "Don't worry," She reassured. "There's no way that unnatural things exist."

"Some days," He began, "It feels like there is something I'm forgetting, something unpleasant. But I must be delusional, right?"

"Yes, yes, you are," Petunia said assuredly, wishing to keep her husband's sanity in check.

"You're right," Vernon said, but he still didn't look totally convinced.

Petunia just decided to forget about those matters for a while, figuring they didn't matter.

* * *

Shizuo frowned as he spotted the same red-headed men he'd seen hanging around Izaya before. They weren't with him today, but he was suspicious of anyone who hung around that snake, friend or not. Were they blackmailed by him, or were they criminals who also helped him out? He needed to find out exactly what was going on.

"Hey, you two," He said, "Clowns, can I have a word with you?"

"Oh, it's you, Shizuo-"

"Hecklejima? What can_ we_ do for you?" The second one said, finishing the other one's sentences in a manner that just annoyed Shizuo.

"I want to know _why_ you hang out with Izaya. Don't you know what sort of person he is?" He demanded.

To his surprise, they both started to laugh.

"Yes, we're fully aware what he is. But we can't tell you too much about him. We were asked not to, by Izaya himself."

"What are you talking about?" Shizuo asked, very curious.

"I'm sorry, but we can't tell you that much about Izaya. All we can say is that Izaya's not who you think he is. We know what made him the way he is today; we want to be by his side and not betray him like everyone else has in his life."

"Betrayed? What kind of nonsense are you saying? Izaya betrays other people to satisfy his own goals! He's a sadistic, twisted individual and you should stay away from him if you know what's good for you." Shizuo said.

"Izaya was betrayed a long time ago. He doesn't trust anyone anymore because of that," The first red-headed boy spoke up.

"But all we're saying is get to know him before you judge," They said, and then suddenly, they disappeared, before a confused Shizuo's eyes.

"How the hell did they disappear like that?" He cried. 'What the hell do they mean by don't judge Izaya? That bastard has always been disgustingly wicked and cruel and nothing will ever change my opinion of him.'

He frowned then and dropped his lit cigarette and stomped on it. "DAMMIT!" He cried out loud. "What the hell do they mean by that? I hate not understanding things, dammit! Izaya is still Izaya, a despicable, annoying bastard, and nothing will ever change my opinion about him."

'Still, what if I did learn something about his backstory? Would that change my opinion of him?' He thought. 'Maybe Shinra knows something.'

* * *

"Izaya, nice to see you again," Shinra said, smiling at the dark-haired young man, who smirked slightly. "Say, Izaya, I've been curious as to what you were doing before you came to Japan. I've come to the conclusion that perhaps you are a foreigner who learned Japanese. You still don't sound entirely like a native. It's faint and hard to make out...but it's there."

"What are you trying to say, Shinra? So what if I'm a foreigner? I still consider myself Japanese," Izaya said, showing no sign at all of being perturbed by his remark. Inside, he was seething inwardly, did Shinra know something about _them? _Of course, he of all people, would notice that Izaya couldn't hide his former British tongue completely! Damn it!

"I've been curious, but I've mostly been waiting for you to tell me what happened to you to make you want to move here so quickly." Shinra said politely.

Izaya narrowed his eyes. "...I don't wish to talk about it, Shinra. Briefly, I will say this: I was not originally born with the name of Izaya, but I was betrayed and nothing in my former life was real. I was going to die, so I escaped and survived. That's about all there is to know."

"I see," Shinra said, "I'm sure that must be quite painful for you to talk about."

Izaya just smirked. "You see, it happened a long time ago, so I just wish to forget about it. But it's not like you can just wake up one day and forget everything-"

Celty shot him a sharp "stare."

"Well, in some cases, I suppose the answer is yes. How I envy you. But from a young age, I learned humans are reprehensible. I suppose that's inevitable, isn't it?" Izaya said softly.

Celty watched him, quite curious as to what was happening with the man she normally hated. Before, she had simply thought him a depraved, if not sociopathic, individual with no morals, but now she was beginning to wonder if she had been wrong about him from the start.

"True enough. You never stop being enigmatic, Izaya."

Izaya chuckled. "There was someone else who taught me that, long before I came here. From a young age, I learned never to ask too many questions. Fortunately, that person is out of my life now, or I'd have killed him by now." He smirked darkly.

Celty shivered at how he said kill like it was the most natural thing in the world. He noticed and smiled sarcastically.

"Let's just say in the place I escaped from, I was intended to die, and my feelings weren't considered. In a situation like that, who doesn't wind up losing their minds? I certainly did. But I'm happier this way," He said and promptly changed the subject to other matters.

* * *

Izaya wasn't certain why Shinra was so curious about his past, but he assumed that probably he had just wanted to know as his genuine friend. Still, a part of him knew that Shinra wasn't like the others, he wasn't like Ronnie-kins or 'Mione...he'd never betray him just for the evilz.

"Hey, did you hear about that woman who was killed? I heard she was a newspaper reporter for the Daily Prophet. How awful. Are we wizards next?" A new voice said as Izaya was wandering out in the street. Instantly, Izaya ducked out of sight and watched the wizards pass by, and when he was sure they were gone, he continued on his merry little way, whistling to himself, until he spotted a familiar figure.

"Oh, hello there, Ryuugamine-kun," He purred upon seeing Mikado looking at him with wary eyes.

"What do you want?" Mikado said coldly. This was the side he never showed to Masaomi. Oh, yes, Mikado Ryuugamine had quite the cunning and calculating mind-not unlike that of Izaya himself-perhaps that was why he was so..._interested _in the boy. After all, it wasn't often that genius minds like his came into being.

"You're managing the Dollars well, aren't you?" Izaya purred, content with annoying the boy for a little bit.

"Yes, what of it?" Mikado asked coldly, giving the egotistical information broker a glare.

"...Just curious. Power corrupts, you know?"

"Oh, and like _you're _the poster child of innocence," Mikado snapped before smiling at him again. That damned smile. How the hell was he so good at hiding how he really felt?

"Perhaps I am, perhaps I am not, Mikado-kun, that's all for you to decide, isn't it?" Izaya said with a knowing smirk on his face. He could only grin a Cheshire Cat grin as he watched the boy walk away. Oh, things were getting so fun around here, and he had already sent Voldemort a note telling him Harry Potter was dead and that he could go ahead and conquer the world already.

It would certainly be interesting, two clever minds against each other, both bad...both out to achieve things only for themselves...and both, betrayed by the world for seeking knowledge.

"Well, we'll see how that ends, won't we?" He said to himself as he stepped into Namie's office and shut the door behind him.


	7. Chapter 7 Kida's discovery

**A/N:So, time to get to work on some stuff now, eh? I guess because this fic is updated so often, it's attracted more fans than usual. Or perhaps it's not like Cursed Green Eyes, Renascentia and Lelouch Potter, in that Harry was not murdered by his relatives, and merely ran away. Well, diverging from stuff is also good as well. :D Izaya is gonna have some more fun in this series as well. It hurts to read the books because of Harry's thick-headedness. **

_**"I am not pessimistic, just staring at the reality calmly,"-**_**Rio Takeuchi, from my favorite manga, Spiral. **

* * *

**Seven: **The worth of human life

Pain. It was the essence of human life, being a human meant you had to deal with those things, every second of every day. Whether it was a physical or emotional pain, most people would definitely have to agree that they expected most humans to share these emotions also. Which was why people who revelled in human suffering were abnormal.

That was how Masaomi Kida saw life, anyway. Though some people tended to see life differently, like one Orihara Izaya. He didn't quite understand how the sociopath thought, and he wasn't certain he wanted to know _how _he thought, either, as the thought of thinking about him was enough to make Masaomi feel sick to his stomach. Speaking of Izaya, what was it with him being around Kida so much lately?

The man was utterly insane, but the thing about the man that sent chills down his spine was that you never quite knew what to expect from him. He could be happy and friendly one moment and then in the other, extremely angry and vengeful. He was a sociopath, he could feign any number of emotions he wanted, but at the same time, he couldn't feel any emotions, either.

"That sick, stone-cold bastard...I hate him," He muttered under his breath, moving toward Russia Sushi, when he noticed some people dressed in weird outfits.

* * *

"...It's getting scary for us wizards. Who would've guessed Muggles are capable of murdering reporters like Rita Skeeter?" A woman with dark hair said, who was wearing old-fashioned robes.

"...Hem, hem, hence why the ministry has sent us here to investigate. We can use our wands to detect any magical user within 100 feet of us. Then we can search their wands to see whether the last spell they cast was indeed Avada Kedavra. I don't think such dimwitted Muggles would be capable of such a thing," A woman dressed in all pink said.

Masaomi immediately hid from these people, sensing that there was something off about them. They talked like they came from another world entirely. Who were they, and what brought them to Ikebukuro?

A tall witch with green robes spoke disdainfully, "I hope you're not leading us on another wild goose chase, Dolores. What, next you'll be telling us Mr. Potter is still alive and hiding out with the Muggles."

"Mr. Potter is _dead. _What kind of wizard would snap his own wand in two and then run away, never to be seen again? Surely you know that the boy was too stupid to even run away. He was Albus's lap dog from the day he was born. I'm willing to bet he went over to the Death Eaters. After all, when I heard of what Albus was planning for that poor dear, I felt awfully bad for him," The pink witch said.

"You _feel_ for people now, Dolores?" The third witch said chidingly.

'Yikes, who the hell are these people?' Masaomi thought with some trepidation.

"Well, I mean...think of it. He was brought up to die for Albus's nonsensical plan of 'Greater Good,' whatever that means, and according to his note, his best 'friends' spied on him and actually hated him. I mean, what kind of effect would that have had on his mental state? It'd be like being hit with the _Crucio _curse." The witch actually sounded sympathetic.

"...Mr. Potter is dead, Dolores, and that's all there is to it. We mustn't speak ill of the dead. We wizards have nothing to gain from being in Japan, anyway. We'll send an owl to Albus, informing him that we think the culprit was a member of the Death Eaters and think about posting a wizard here. There's no point in sticking around any longer."

'Mr. Potter? Who the hell is that?' Masaomi thought. Unfortunately, he stepped on a stone.

"I think someone might be watching us, Dolores. It could be a Muggle," The green witch said, stepping in Masaomi's direction. Masaomi stayed perfectly still. Then she returned.

"Well, what was it?" The pink witch snapped.

"There was no one there. Just my imagination," The witch lied, though her sharp eyes were in Masaomi's direction. When the other two disappeared, the third witch hesitated and then spoke to Masaomi.

"...This doesn't concern you, Muggle. Forget what you have seen."

Kida spoke up. "Are you guys a secret society or something?"

The witch did not answer. "...Yes, yes, we are. You're such a curious lad, just like young Mr. Potter. Though I must not speak of anything any further, for that would be breaching the Statute of Muggle Secrecy. So if you don't mind, I shall erase your memories of what you have seen-"

But before she could do so, an owl swooped down and brought a letter in her hands. She read it with trembling fingers. "...Albus...not this nonsense again. Severus already talked. We're not using Veritaserum and that's final!" She snapped her fingers and then vanished in a flash of light, leaving a bewildered Masaomi staring at the space where they had been previously.

"...Muggle? What the hell? Magic..._exists? _This has to be a joke, yes, a twisted joke, and who is Mr. Potter?" He grumbled to himself as he walked with his hands in his pockets.

* * *

"...I didn't know you were into pottery, Kida-kun," A familiar voice purred devilishly. Kida didn't even need to turn around to see the culprit.

"_Izaya," Kida spat. "_Were you following me this entire time?"

The man grinned, showing a predatory smirk. Any ordinary person might have thought he was a friendly person...but he did not look human to Masaomi. There was a different air about him today. It seemed...darker. "...Perhaps I was, perhaps I wasn't. Care to chat for a bit, Kida-kun?" He whispered darkly.

"Depends. You going to use magic on me to make me listen to you?" Kida said sarcastically, so much so that he didn't notice the shocked look on Izaya's face at first. Then he noticed it quickly morph into a dark look.

"...Magic, huh? Who told you that load of nonsense, Kida-kun? There is no such thing," He said darkly.

"You know something, don't you, Izaya? Tell me, what do you know about magic? What's a Muggle?"

Izaya stiffened. "..."

"Well, you going to tell me your usual lies or what?" Masaomi pressed.

"...Magic is nothing but a fantasy."

"Tell me what you know, Izaya!" Masaomi demanded.

The man looked at him for a long moment and then sighed. "I know I can trust clever old Masaomi for a bit. But I don't trust anyone completely. That's a foolish thing to do...put trust in others. Such a joke it is. Yes, magic exists, Kida-kun. There're a bunch of foolish idiots who live in a closed-off society who fool around with it and think they're better than you and I. 'Muggles.' That's their name for us. They're stuck in time, Kida-kun. If I were you, I'd keep away from bad influences like them..."

'What's with him today? He's acting completely different.' Masaomi thought. "You talk...as though you've been in that world."

An enigmatic smirk. "...Perhaps. But, like I said before, you will only get small half-truths out of me, Kida-kun. That's how it is."

"They kept talking about Mr. Potter..." Kida said.

"...Potter? That's a meaningless term, Kida-kun. Pay it no mind."

"Izaya..._who are you, really?" _Kida pressed.

Izaya glared at him with cold eyes. "...Kida-kun, I think you've asked enough questions for now. Forget what you heard. After all, all that matters is the present..." He said jovially before sticking his hands in his pockets and then walking away.

'I can't read that man's mind. What is he thinking?' Kida thought, troubled.

* * *

Izaya cursed himself for his stupidity in his mind. Because of his carelessness, he had nearly divulged his secrets to stupid Kida. Damn that boy, for being too sharp for his own good. He had sworn when he had come to Ikebukuro to bury those ghosts for good and prevent them from surfacing.

Why wasn't it working? He glared at his reflection in a puddle. He was frustrated. He needed someone to toy with. He spotted a witch wandering around and froze. It was her...Minerva McGonagall. Izaya calmed himself down and watched her out of the corner of his eye, noting how she seemed frustrated about something. He just wandered past her, determined not to make eye contact.

She didn't even give him a second glance. Izaya felt more satisfied than before as he returned home. 'I've got to stop leaving myself open. Izaya Orihara trusts in no one...that's my prime directive and I'm sticking to it.'

Bored, he kicked a pebble a few steps away until it hit someone.

"Ow! What was that for? I was trying to read the newspaper!" An irritated voice said.

Izaya smirked. "Sorry about that..."

"...Sorry? Wait a second...IZAYA, I KNEW IT WAS YOU! COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT, DAMMIT!"

Oh, crap_. _He had really messed up this time, hadn't he? He just had to run into Shizu-chan now.

"Sorry, Shizu-chan, some other time, maybe! Farewell!" He cried.

A few moments later, he heard a chair being thrown in his direction. He knew Shizuo was tailing him. He knew that probably none of the magical people raised an eyebrow, figuring the Muggles were just nuts.

This almost reminded him of when Ron would fight with Izaya...no, he wouldn't think of those things. He smirked.

Shizuo was still persistent two blocks in. Of course, their fights drew attention.

"Izaya Orihara!" A person cried.

Izaya hated fame. He freaking hated it. That was why he ignored the press as much as possible and stuck to underground work, and if anyone saw him close-up, well, they were dead before they could rat him out.

"IZAYA, YOU ARE SO FREAKING DEAD WHEN I CATCH YOU!" Shizuo screamed some other obscenities that Izaya didn't care to list. This was all so typical.

"Shizu-chan, what vulgar language. Perhaps you need your mouth washed out!"

* * *

Fred didn't even bat an eye when he saw a familiar blond man chasing a black-haired man. "...There goes Izaya, at it again. It's like old times, huh? Doesn't it remind you of when Izaya used to be attacked by Malfoy?"

"Maybe that's why he does it, dear brother," George deduced. "He seems to enjoy it, as a matter of fact."

Both of them were willing to trust in their old friend, even if his name had changed. He was still the same in some ways and different in others. That was just how it worked, and they were used to his manic ways by now. In many ways, they loved it. Their friend had become more down-to-earth and was able to be himself.

"I just wish he wouldn't kill people," Fred muttered.

George nodded. "Blame Ron for that personality change. That would be the right person to blame."

"Either way, we can't change the past. Only ourselves," Fred said.

* * *

Albus cursed and threw his pensieve across the room in frustration, but the glass did not break. "Dammit! Dammit! Why can't I find that pawn of mine? He's not dead! I need him for my plan."

"Albus, he's dead," Phineas said from his portrait. "No wizard can possibly survive in the Muggle world for nine years. It's impossible."

"I know," Dumbledore said scathingly. "But I still need my pawn!" He looked like an angry toddler who had been deprived of his favorite toy.

"Why not relax? Voldemort hasn't done anything for years, not since he learned Potter was dead," Phineas said.

Dumbledore gave him a harsh stare, one that made the portrait blanch slightly. "I want Potter now! I want my pawn!"

"There's nothing that can be done about that," Severus Snape said as he stood in his office, still wondering why the old man bothered to even call him here in the first place. He wasn't about to tell a soul who Potter was now. He was terrified of the monster Dumbledore had unwittingly created. Dumbledore wouldn't believe him if he told him. "Potter is dead. I've looked everywhere. You're chasing a ghost. Forget the past."

"You're lying and you know it, Severus. You can't lie to me. Tell me, where is he?"

"He is not alive." Severus said. "I'm sure that I won't lie to you, Albus."

* * *

Izaya lay on his bed, twitching slightly. His head ached...it was that damned scar, the one that hadn't been aching for quite a while. It twinged every now and again, but not like this. It was burning. He dared not touch it.

If he did, Voldemort might get wind of his presence, and he didn't want that. Severus was bad enough. But the others...he couldn't bear the thought of any of them knowing who he used to be.

"Dammit...I thought I fixed this," He mumbled under his breath.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:Another update, again? Well, think of it as a good thing. :D Oh, and just because there's torture, blood, and psychopathic/apathetic views of humanity in this it does not mean that's how I feel or it does not mean I harbor any murderous views of humanity. I love humans...but not in the twisted Izaya sense. I am a perfectly sane person attempting to make a point here...Izaya is a tragic villain here...a villain driven mad by betrayal and heartbreak who cannot turn back from the dark path he forged for himself. I hope you will not believe he will be saved. Izaya is not that man. Izaya is a psychopath, and thus has no love for humanity.  
**

**Chapter Eight A surprise guest **

* * *

It was _amazing_ how much his reflection had changed over the past nine years, Izaya thought, as he stood in his bathroom, wishing his scar would stop burning and just vanish. Though he was able to hide it, the connection to Voldemort still remained, and it would not stop lately. Though he supposed he would no longer disagree with Voldemort's methods, Izaya thought to himself and studied his reflection.

He absolutely_ loved_ how he looked now. He looked, well, for lack of a better word, _inhuman. _He knew part of his soul was already gone due to his psychosis, but Izaya actually thought being a psychopath meant you saw things in a clearer picture. He didn't have to attach too many emotions to humans, because he now knew they were out to betray him or deceive him. Best to use them before they used him.

He remembered when he had honestly been disgusted by Malfoy's method of doing things-like bullying, and then he realized Malfoy seemed oddly right, as arrogant as he had been. There was nothing more satisfying than knocking someone off their high horse or reducing the idiots of this corrupt society to a sobbing heap of melodrama. It just amused Izaya seeing how predictable people were. They never changed, but that was part of the fun that came with being a psychopath.

A wide smirk crawled up his face. It was funny how people seemed to view psychopaths as unhappy people, when Izaya had never felt more happy or blissful in his life. At Hogwarts, Izaya had always been mocked, made fun of, or stared at. His friends had spied on his every movement, the Headmaster had just manipulated him, and of course, his relatives had never showed him any sign of love or decency.

"That's enough reminiscing about the past for one day," He muttered to himself, eying his reflection one more time before straightening his collar and standing up. "That looks to be in order...shall I toy with some more humans tomorrow? Ah, this looks to be _so_ much fun!"

* * *

**So, you still there, Mr. Overprotective Boyfriend who is not clichéd in the slightest?~**

_Leave 'Mione alone. I won't make myself clear again._

**Boo, you're no fun to be around. You're just a party-pooper. I can tell plainly that you must be incredibly stupid to keep on messaging me like this. **

_You're the one who keeps replying! Just leave us alone!_

**Ah, but look who's talking. You're the one who responds all the time.**

* * *

Upon seeing no response, he merely chuckled. "I figured he would react that way to me. Little Ronnie-kins is so predictable. But I figured he would react that way to me."

While he was toying around with it, a figure appeared in a flash of Floo. It was Severus, again. He glared at Izaya. "Potter, come back to Hogwarts. I won't ask again."

Izaya sneered. "Look, do you really want me back there? I've changed, you know. I'll have you know I've robbed tons of places, cheated people out of their money, engaged in blackmail, drug smuggling, prostitution, and...murdered a few people. How about that, Severus-kun? Impressed? No? Figures you wouldn't know a good criminal when you see one. I'm perfectly content living the life I live now, so if you would kindly stop poking your nose in my business, I would be happy."

Severus looked ashen. "...What _happened to you, Potter-"_

"The name is Orihara Izaya, Severus."

"You will not be so casual. Call me Professor-"

"Last I checked, Severus-kun, I am twenty-three years old, no longer a magic user, and no longer Harold James Potter. I have legally changed my name to Izaya Orihara and am a Muggle now. So you cannot force me to return to that world, nor can you bully me around like you used to. It sucks, doesn't it? Here you used to have all this power and now you can no longer use it against me. To think I was ever afraid of you. Care for a cup of tea, Severus-kun?" Izaya mocked, opening a chatroom on his computer and typing in a few words.

"What the hell is that thing, Potter-er, Orihara?"

"That's much better," Izaya chirped. "This, my fellow troglodyte, is a computer; a Muggle invention that can store information. It's much more efficient than Wizarding technology because of a device known as the Internet. You can obtain information in seconds just from searching up things, submit videos to sites. Oh, you don't even know what videos are, do you? This is far more efficient than using those ugly old owls, wouldn't you agree?" He typed in a response on the Dollars chatroom.

* * *

**Hello there, everyone. Kanra-chan is back~**

_**Hi, Iza-er, Kanra-san. Is it okay if I call you that? **_

**Call me whatever you like, Ryuugamine-kun. I don't mind. Right now, I'm a little busy with an irritating little fly who won't go away.  
**

_**Is it Shizuo-san?**_

**Nope, it's someone who has no idea about the Internet. As hard as it may seem to believe, there really are people out there who are complete morons about modern-day society. This is why I can't stand humans. They really are so ignorant~ **

_**Eh? People like that really exist, Kanra-san?**_

**Yes, indeed, they do~ Such ignorant cowards they all are.  
**

"Enough of this nonsense, Potter. You will return with me at once." He cried before pulling out his wand. But Izaya was ready. He pulled out his cell phone and got ready to dial a number.

* * *

"Uh-uh-uh...you don't want to do that. Because...what would this look like to a Muggle? An unarmed guy like me having someone point something at his head...that's called assault. And, what you're attempting to do is called kidnapping, unlawful seizure of someone from his or her house in order to do stuff against their will, and also you illegally invaded my house without permission. You see, we Muggles don't take too kindly to people entering our houses without knocking or being invited. That's called unlawful entry...or you can also call it a break-in. All I have to do is dial this number and tell them I am about to be abducted...and some police will come and take you to jail. Of course, you could always seize their guns, but let me tell you, guns are deadly things. They can knock you down before you can even use a spell." Izaya warned, and dialed the number.

Severus glared at him. "Potter, listen to me, I won't take this nonsense anymore."

"Hello~surely you remember me, this is Izaya Orihara, information broker of Ikebukuro at your service! How've you been? Good. Now that we're past the pleasantries, you see, I have a bit of a problem that requires your assistance. You see, an unwelcome guest has broken into my house and is attempting to abduct me so he can make me go somewhere against my will. His name is Severus Snape and if you can't find him on the records, he's actually a shut-in who is unstable and crazy. He works for a group of child abusers who abduct children from houses at age eleven and then send them to a place where the parents can't see. Yes, yes, this is true. The children cannot have their parents come visit them. It's a place of nasty reputation...you see, the master of the school is a bit of a nutcase...and he lets the children run amok...so children have nearly been killed, and abused in the premises. I would like it very much if you could send some of my men over to arrest this man and lead him away to jail. Oh, and be warned: he is armed and dangerous and insane. Thank you." He hung up and smirked.

"You...ungrateful little..."

Izaya just looked at him and then clapped his hands. "Keep it up, keep it upppp! I love that look of utter hatred on your face, that look like you want to kill me...tell me, Severus-kun..." He said before advancing on him, "Show me more of your hatred, your desire to kill me...it gets me excited." He instantly whipped out his knife and then tackled a surprised Severus to the ground. "Go ahead...do it...do it already. Kill me."

"What's wrong with you? You're insane!" Snape cried, scared of this new Potter.

"...I'm perfectly sane. I'm seeing things the way they always were."

There was a knock at the door and a group of criminals rushed in.

"Orihara-san, you all right? Is that the man? We'll take care of him, won't we, Dotachin?" A young girl with dark hair said before glancing at her blond-haired partner, who smirked.

"We'll get to use our manga on him, won't we!" Walker Yumasaki cheered.

"Have fun!" Izaya called out the door as a terrified Snape was dragged out. "Bye, bye..."

Severus had his wand taken from him.

"Wah, look at this, Dotachin! It looks just like those wands they use in magical girl anime!" Erika cried excitedly. "Do you think we could break this in half and shove it up-"

"Do what you want with him, just don't get blood on my car," Togusa said. "And don't use gasoline."

Snape froze. "You're all nuts! Who are you people?"

"We're the Dollars. We're buddies of Izaya." Kadota said coldly. "Erika, Walker, do what you want with him."

Erika and Walker grinned as they dragged him out and dropped manga in front of him. "Do you want me to torture you slowly or painfully? How about we brand your eye with a solder? Nah, let's just break his arm for good measure."

Snape's agonizing scream could be heard for miles.

* * *

When Severus opened his eyes, his arm was in a cast, but his wand was missing and his clothes were singed because Erika and Walker had found it funny to set them on fire. He knew he couldn't go back to Dumbledore. He'd have to go to Voldemort...no, at the moment, he decided to stay in Japan and bide his time. Izaya Orihara was a danger to both himself and the Wizarding World.

"Uh-uh, you're not going anywhere, Severus. You see, I can't have you spreading word of my existence to Dumbass. So you can either die, or else pass a little message from me to Dumbledore: I'd like you to torture him a bit. Make him suffer for a bit. The old bastard grew on me a bit during the nine years I was here. After all, he's the one who was so good to me." Izaya remarked from beside him, fidgeting with his coat and moving a pawn across his board. "But his chess game won't be played by me. This time, it's me who controls the game, Severus."

"How did you get here?" Severus demanded. "Why did you do that to me? Have you no remorse?"

Izaya shrugged his shoulders. "Why should I? You never showed any to me during the years you bullied me and made me feel like crap. Why should I show the stupid ideals of pity and mercy when they just tie humans down and make them weak? Those who are my enemies get what they deserve...that's all there is to it..." He said darkly before laughing hysterically.

"You're insane...what kind of monster did Dumbledore create?"

"Why, that's simple...it's a monster created by his own cruelty. I am my own person...but I am a person who toys with humans and loves them. I simply love them! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Izaya cried out, his laugh scaring Severus so much that the man fled in terror with his Floo, intent on never telling a soul.

"Ah, that was some of the best fun I've had in a while," Izaya said, rubbing his sides from laughter. "Now...what should be my next move?"

"Severus has failed us, Ron. I'm afraid we'll have to dispose of him." Dumbledore said coldly.

"Sure," Ron said.


	9. Chapter 9 The troll with no heart

_**"Every man has his dark side. The brighter the picture, the darker the negative."-Rupert Thorne, from Batman TAS. Yeah, as you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of BTAS, because it's full of tragic monsters and tragic heroes, epic tales of villainy and treachery, even though they're manipulative bastards like Izaya, you can still feel bad for them, and some of that tends to rub off here. No matter how twisted Izaya becomes, you can still relate with him, right? I'm sure all of you have been put in a position before where your supposed 'best friend' that you love so much is actually betraying you. Whether it be a family member, a close friend or lover, I've had that happen to me before, friendships that weren't real, friendships that ended for stupid reasons. But then you realize if they turned on you, then the friendships weren't real to begin with. We all get mad at someone who turned their back on us, and sadly that betrayal can factor in a lot of murder cases. One person will betray another, and then the other one will become filled with psychopathic rage and wind up murdering the other, or kill just out of love. Some of the worst criminals have killed based on betrayal. Turns out that suffering concussions can indeed induce psychosis in some individuals... But enough about that, let's go on to the story.**_

* * *

**Chapter Nine~ IZAYA'S BIG SCHEME**

He twisted and turned in his sheets. As much as he tried to throw away his damned emotions, they did not completely leave him. The ghosts of the past tended to linger around him like a bad odor. He'd sworn that whenever he'd gone to Japan and become Izaya Orihara, that he'd throw away all of the feelings of the past, whether it was his former feelings for his 'friends, Ron and Hermione, his 'loyalty' to Dumbledore, his hurt by being abused by the Dursleys and never being shown any love by them, but somehow those feelings still kept festering in his mind. They still evolved into the demons that plagued his mind.

Oh sure, they retreated far into his mind, because of his psychopathy, but when he was alone and away from people, they tended to resurface, especially when he was asleep. There wasn't really much one could do about dreams, they were just there, and Orihara Izaya knew that more than anyone.

"_Go away_," He muttered. He rubbed his black hair in his sleep, his spiky black hair that was sticking up. His contacts were out, of course. It showed his real eye color, his real green eyes, eyes that he desperately wanted to change, but could not. So the best he could do was hide them with the contacts, but still when he looked in the mirror, he would see those damned green eyes, the ones he hated with a passion.

"Go away," He hissed.

* * *

Izaya's dreamscape

He was back there, in that despicable place, with those damned people, Petunia and Vernon, his mortal enemies, grinning at him and making faces at him. "You're such a freak." They said, "Nothing about you has changed. Even though you've left that world, you still carry with you the markings of a freak and that'll never change, no matter where you go, my boy."

Vernon whipped out a knife. "Let's teach you your place, boy," He said as he advanced on Izaya, but Izaya grabbed his hand and started to twist it. "Let go of me, you little freak!" Vernon cried.

Izaya smirked. "What's wrong, dear _uncle, or shall I call you Vernon? _I no longer consider you my family," He spat.

"You idiot! We've been so kind to you-" Vernon spluttered, turning purple.

"On the contrary, Vernon, you showed me nothing but disdain and hatred, and because of your disdain and hatred, I was awoken to reality. But actually, you were the only ones to openly show your hatred for me, the rest of them...they all pretended to like me when in reality they despised me. For your open honesty in admitting you hate me, I thank you very much. I shall thank you with this gift..." Izaya grinned sadistically as he twisted his uncle's arm, oblivious to his screams of agony.

"How dare you do that to Vernon!" Petunia cried.

"Poor, poor, Petunia! All torn up over the death of my former mother. Perhaps I should make you suffer a little, too," He said as he pulled out a knife. "Heh...heh...HA HA HA HA HA! I should make you suffer, shouldn't I? Yes, yes, I will..."

"We'll throw you in the cupboard!" They cried.

"Now, now, enough of that. I shall show you how different I am," Izaya said. Suddenly, they grabbed Izaya and hit him in the face. It still hurt. Then the image of Albus Dumbledore appeared. "Harry...you must live with your relatives and get along with them. It is all part of your destiny."

"Screw you, old man." Izaya remarked. "I don't need your help," He spat darkly, walking away from him.

"You do not say no to me, my boy. _Cruciatus!" Albus cried, _and suddenly Izaya found himself on the floor, writhing in pain.

"Let go of me, you _bastard," _Izaya growled.

"You've become dark. I'm afraid I have no choice but to kill you. AVADA KEDAVRA!" He cried, and threw a dark curse at Izaya.

"Save me, Shinra," He whispered.

Shinra just looked at him in scorn. "This is what you get, Izaya. Now that I've learned who you really are, I have no pity for you..." He said before stomping on Izaya's hand.

"C-Celty...help me." He begged.

Celty just turned away from him.

"K-Kida-kun," He begged.

Kida glared at him. "Izaya, this is what you deserve. You're such a bastard. Not even learning about your past made me pity you. You deserve to die in hell like the little traitor you are." He spat at Izaya's feet.

"Traitor, traitor!" Ron and Hermione joined in. They were all spitting at his feet and laughing at him. All of them surrounded Izaya as he lay there, writhing in pain. And then Shizuo showed up and started stabbing him while laughing, laughing the same sort of laugh that Izaya himself normally used.

And then Voldemort showed up, wielding his wand. "Ah, if it isn't Harry Potter." Everyone else had disappeared except for him and Voldemort. "Why did you disappear? We were supposed to settle the score."

Izaya got back up, despite the pain, and then smirked. "You're right, Voldemort, as a matter of fact-I've changed my ways. I no longer ally with that dumb world. Why don't you make a deal with me? Together we can both destroy the world."

Voldemort grinned. "What happened to you?"

"I'm no longer Harry Potter, that fake, naive boy. My real name is Orihara Izaya. How about the two of us forge a new world together?" Izaya grinned sadistically and then extended a hand, which Voldemort accepted.

"I am glad to see you've changed, Harry Potter."

"That prophecy was bull, anyway," Izaya snarked.

"But I'm afraid," Voldemort said, grinning coldly, "That you must die, anyway...Izaya. AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Then suddenly, all Izaya knew was agony and pain as his scar burned viciously. He was back at Hogwarts.

"There he is. Look at the freak. What did he do to his eyes? He changed his eye color. I should've known he was a Slytherin from the start."

"Blood traitor," Ron cried.

"You think I give a flying freak about your opinions now? You've just become a brat."

"What about you?" Ron cried.

Then Izaya found himself all alone. "But this is what I've always wanted, isn't it?" He asked himself. "I always wanted to be alone and away from everyone else. This is my destiny, after all. I am the one who looks up at humanity."

"_But don't you still long for your friends?" _

"The same friends who mocked me? I have no need for them."

"_You're such a fool, Orihara Izaya. Without your friends, you will die...die, die...die..."_

_And then his scar burned even more._

* * *

And then he woke, not trembling, but still on edge, an emotion that did not normally suit Izaya. He reached up and felt his head. His scar wasn't burning. It had only been in his head. It was a dream, an illusion, a fantasy dreamt up by his own mind. "My, my, I must certainly say that I have interesting dreams, but that dream was certainly very unpleasant. Though not entirely unpleasant. No, I'm just lying to myself." He thought as he stared at his stupid green eyes in the mirror and then put in his red contacts. "Much~better. Now I look more like the me I'm supposed to look like. I wish I could change my eye color, but I can't. I must never let anyone know that this isn't my real eye color. Besides, it's not like me to show such vulnerability." He muttered.

"I hate those dreams, and I hate that world. I'm hiding from that world. Who am I to think about such fantasies? HA HA HA! Anyway...ah, Mikado-kun, Kida-kun...they'll all become tools on my board...but for now...may as well get some sleep. After all, one like me usually has nightmares, anyway. Ah, humans, I just love them so, so~ much...!" He sang to himself as he took out his contacts again and went back to sleep.

* * *

Severus Snape had never felt more irritated in his life. The Harry Potter now was nothing but a depraved psychopath who would do anything to get his own way and had hatred for everyone but himself. He thought he had seen signs of evil in the boy from the beginning, but he had never expected the boy to became such an evil villain. He knew that even Bellatrix would shrivel in horror before his psychopathy. "The death of Rita Skeeter...it must _have_ been Orihara's doing..." He mumbled... "I have to kill him. I must warn Dumbledore." He said, and then disappeared in a flash of Floo.

* * *

Whenever he reappeared, Dumbledore and Ron were both looking at him with cold eyes.

"So, you're late..." Dumbledore muttered.

"I have not found Harry Potter, sir, but I have a good idea of who killed Rita Skeeter. It's a Muggle, a dangerous Muggle."

"Muggles aren't dangerous, Severus. You are." Dumbledore muttered.

"I am? Why?" Snape said. "I don't understand-"

"You failed your mission. You've been associating with Muggles...time for you to pay the ultimate price. Ron, why don't you do the honors? Please, send an owl to your brother, and tell him that Severus Snape should be given a Dementor's kiss for being a traitor to the Light."

"Y-You promised me...that you would spare Harry Potter."

"Severus, I made no such promises to begin with. The boy was supposed to die in order to fulfill my own agenda."

"You don't understand! Potter isn't dead...he's...what if you've made a drastic mistake? What if you caused a monster to be born?"

"A monster...sounds just like you, Severus. A disloyal traitor who must be punished."

Ron immediately wrote a letter to Percy and then sent the owl off. He turned back to Severus and smirked. "Well, well, looks like you'll finally be getting your comeuppance, Professor." He spat.

'Looks like I'm taking this knowledge to the grave,' He thought. 'Curse you, Orihara Izaya. Curse you...'

* * *

Izaya sneezed as he walked outside. "I believe someone might have been talking about me," He said. He smirked as he whipped out his phone and typed in a message. "**Hello there, Miss Granger. Would you like to talk to me again?" **

_**Not you. I want nothing to do with you. **_

**"Oh, please. Tell me, would you like to...?" **

Suddenly, two figures appeared out of nowhere. He recognized them at once.

"Izaya!" They cried, obviously Fred and George.

"Be careful," Izaya scolded, "And please don't sneak up on me like that."

"You all right?" They said in unison. "You look pale."

"Just had a nightmare," Izaya muttered, "A nightmare...about the past. But it's okay...I can handle it."

"Sure you're all right, man?" Fred said.

"You can tell us about it," George chimed in.

"I know I can trust you, and that's good enough for me. But I don't want to trust too many people."

They sat down at a cafe as Izaya described his dreams to them. "And in the end, it turned out to be a wonderfully unpleasant, if not satisfying dream, where I got my comeuppance on the Dursleys."

"I...see." They said, "You're not freaked out by it?"

"Oh, sure...a little bit. I think this dream still means I cannot escape my inner demons, but no matter how hard I try, I still become a demon, anyway, so what's the point of struggling?"

"Such a pessimistic attitude," Fred chided, "But then again the life you live now is probably better than being killed as a child soldier for the sake of a cause that didn't make any sense. In fact, we're thinking...the old man might be trying to kill Severus Snape."

"Really now?" Izaya said, raising a brow. "Well now, stupid old Snivellus showed up a few times, asking me to return. I think I pretty much sealed his fate. He's going to die, I won't shed any tears. After all, he drove me down this path to begin with. If I hadn't been bullied by him...but then again, I probably would have wound up this way, anyway. It's all about luck. Luck chose to make my best friends spies."

"Ha-er, Izaya, you don't have to put it like that," George said.

"You two...I enjoy your company very much, but I'd advise you to stop being around me so much. You see, I have quite a reputation around here, and if people see Orihara Izaya hanging out with some people that they don't know, rumor will spread, and before you know it, that word will reach the eyes and ears of the Wizarding World and before you know it-"

"Oh, don't worry. We're being careful. To everyone else, we look like different people. But to you, we look the same as always."

"You never come without being prepared," Izaya praised.

"Do you still use magic in your everyday life, Izaya?"

"Not really," Izaya remarked, "I don't really care to. I've just been living like a Muggle and it's not too bad."

"Are you really worried about him?" Fred asked George as Izaya walked off, humming to himself.

"He certainly has changed in nine years. Then again, I suppose nine years could change a person."

"You've got that right. But I can't help but feel that he's much happier this way. You know, he was never really happy at Hogwarts. He was always being bullied, mistreated and left out, but now he's happiest because he's satisfied with who he is." George remarked agan.

"But he's a murderer and a sociopath," Fred said. "Can't we help him?"

"That's just the way he is," George said sadly, "There's no way we're telling Ron about this. May as well accept that Harry Potter is gone for good and that Izaya Orihara is here to stay."

* * *

"IZAYA!" A familiar voice boomed.

Izaya didn't even pause. _"Leave me alone_, Shizu-chan. I'm not in the mood for a game," He muttered.

"Izaya, I need answers!" Shizuo cried, running up to the dark-haired man and grabbing him by the collar.

"Shizu-chan, please put me down," Izaya said, "I need to breathe, you know."

"You bastard! I want answers," Shizuo said. "I've heard some rumors...I heard rumors about your past. Talk to me, you bastard. Tell me!"

"Not at all, Shizu-chan," Izaya said darkly, "You hate me, I hate you. What more is there to be said?"

"You bastard, you're just being a coward!" Shizuo cried.

"Not a coward, I'm just not in the mood to fight today," Izaya said, setting himself free from Shizuo and walking off with a cold look on his face, which stunned Shizuo, who looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you really Izaya?" He said skeptically.

"Of course I am..." He muttered. "But today, I feel like thinking on things. I'm not really in the mood for childish insults."

"The things I heard about your past...are they true?" Shizuo said angrily.

Izaya turned back and said with a smirk on his face, "Perhaps. Let's see...how should I put this, Shizu-chan? Before I met you, I went by another name. But my life was hell...I was tormented, I was betrayed by those closest to me, and I vowed to never trust anyone ever again. I ran away to Japan and decided to start anew. That's all." He said while smirking.

"What's your real name?" Shizuo demanded.

"I can't tell you. I've abandoned my birth name. Shizu-chan...that's all. That's all you need to know, Shizu-chan. I'm just surprised you're not trying to kill me right now."

"You bastard, can't you just act like you usually do? You're supposed to act irrational!" Shizuo cried.

"Shizu-chan, I'm tired and I'm bored!"

"You son of a bitch, you're mocking me!" Shizuo cried, lifting up a vending machine and throwing it at Izaya, who dodged it lazily.

"Just leave me alone," Izaya remarked. "Okay...I suppose I'll play with you for a little bit..." He said, trying to hit Shizuo a few times with his knife. Then Shizuo watched in disbelief as Izaya just walked off.

"What's wrong with him?" He remarked. "Dammit, it's not like I'm worried about him. The world would be better off without him, but what he said...is it true?" He muttered. "Betrayed by everyone he knew? How much of that is a lie?"

"I'm beginning to wonder that myself..." Was the message thrust in front of his face by a cell phone.

"Celty..." He said. "Did you see that?"

"Yes..." She typed. "What is wrong with Izaya?"

"Don't know. Maybe he's not one hundred percent the asshole that I think he is, but he's still suspicious." Shizuo scoffed.

"I'm wondering...whether or not Izaya's actually a broken person inside."

"_Broken?" _Shizuo said skeptically. "Meaning that...?"

"In other words, earlier in his life, he wasn't like this. He had empathy and the ability to relate with humans. But somehow, something made him change and warped him into the cold monster you see today."

"I see," Shizuo remarked.

"What I'm saying is, I think he's more human than you think," Celty typed, "But at the same time, he's completely inhuman and has shut off his heart. Because now, he doesn't think feelings matter. And I'm afraid that friendship and love...those words don't mean anything to him."

"Still hate the bastard," Shizuo said, lighting a cigarette, though in a way, he felt a little pity for the man. "What kind of trauma did he undergo?"

"Who knows?" Celty typed. "For him to become what he is today, it had to be something major."

* * *

"So you're back again, huh, Orihara?" Namie remarked.

"Yep, Namie-chan!" He sang playfully.

"Stop it with the yobisute, Orihara," She snapped.

"Sorry, Namie-san," He said.

"You're darker than usual today. Is something wrong?" She said apathetically.

"Nope~! I just figured out a fabulous new plan to get rid of all of my enemies-"

"Which you seem to have plenty of," She snarked.

"Not counting you?" He responded.

"Of course I hate you," She snapped.

"I ran into Shizu-chan again today. He's doing well."

His phone rattled. He picked it up and then opened it, realizing there was a new message there from Hermione.

_Who are you, really, Nakura-san? And what do you want with me? _

_**Why, just to see you. I just wanna say hello because I figure being stuck with a disgusting boyfriend like that means you'll want to hear the words of a real man!" **_

_I don't know if you're real. You're fake, just like your emotions are fake. _

_**Once upon a time ago, they weren't. But now, I have no heart. I'm the troll with no heart. But it's better that way, Granger-san. I don't have to worry about being hurt. Besides, follow my advice. Live your own life, and don't give a damn about anyone else...**_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:Yup, another update. Thanks to One of the Colorless for suggesting I put in stuff about Izaya's sisters. Mairu and Kururi are adorable. I just know I'm gonna love writing them if they're just as messed-up and crazy as their brother is. Yes, I've made references to Frankenstein, The Troll with no heart in his body, and this time there's a Pandora Hearts reference! All rights go to their proper owners. :D Izaya will be changing his eye color. Just suspend your disbelief**

* * *

**Ten Through the eyes of the sisters  
**

* * *

If you were to ask Mairu and Kururi Orihara if they had an ordinary life, their answer would most definitely be _no_. For starters, they had started out completely ordinary, with their mother and father who loved them very much, until the day a teenage boy joined their lives forever. He wasn't related to them biologically, but he became their big brother. His name was...Orihara Izaya.

Mairu knew there was something not Japanese about him, because even though he looked Japanese and spoke the language perfectly, there was just something about him that _wasn't. He _seemed...almost...fierce. At first, Mairu and Kururi didn't know what to do with this stranger...this stranger who was pretending to be their older brother, an older brother was someone they'd never had in their life. They were curious about him, but wary, too. Would he try to steal their parents from them? Was he an imposter who was out to do them harm?

However, he was actually a very nice boy who was just a bit colder than others.

At first, the girls were wary of their new older sibling, but then they learned he had a soft spot for little kids, and they warmed up to their older brother, Izaya. Soon they were bragging to their classmates at school about their great older brother, Izaya, and even whenever he became famous later on for being an information broker who was ruthless at extracting information out of people, Mairu and Kururi also started dabbling in little 'crimes' of their own; usually little recondite acts of rebellion. Mairu was the talkative one, the one who would talk back to the teacher after he'd dared to tell her that Izaya was just an adopted brother, not a real one.

Mairu's response? "No, Iza-nii _is _our real big brother and t_hat's_ all that matters to us!" When she had repeated these words to Izaya, he had just looked thoughtful for a few moments before he smiled and told her that she'd said the right thing and that the teacher deserved what he'd gotten for being a prick, in his words, before their mother had scolded him.

* * *

He may not be the perfect older brother, he may not be related to her by blood, he may be very twisted and messed-up, but so was she. She loved her older brother, so no matter what stupid stuff he had done in the past, she still considered him her family, which was why she had been surprised when he reacted so strongly to her asking him about his former life.

His reaction to it had been startling to the little girls. He just stared at them both for a long moment.

"Iza-nii, what's wrong? Did you remember something unpleasant?" Mairu asked.

"No, nothing at all, Mairu. It's just that my former family was not so welcoming. They were, as you could say, demons in the guise of humans."

Both Mairu and Kururi looked vaguely interested now. "Go on, continue, tell us some more, Iza-nii!" Mairu said. Kururi nodded her head, too.

"Yes, in fact, they had a really fat, plump boy, who they called their precious, precious boy, when in reality he was a demon inside, and the child that they neglected and mistreated was me. But I escaped from there, I became the hero who figured out a way to slay those demons, to retreat from them. So I, the hero, am lying in wait."

"Iza-nii, you're the hero. Shouldn't you be all out in public, waving to your fans?"

Izaya's eyes dimmed. "Forget I said hero, then. I'm the villain, lurking in the darkness, waiting for a chance to slay those villains, because I had a grudge against them. Evil has standards, you see." Izaya said before smirking at them.

"Yay! Iza-nii's the villain! I _like_ where this story's going!" Mairu said, while Kururi nodded her head in interest. Sometimes he would tell them little things about his past, though not too much. Fortunately for him, his sisters tended to repeat the things he said, but no one believed them, because they were the _sisters _of _Izaya Orihara, Japan's biggest rumormonger. _That meant that no one tended to take them seriously, which was a good thing in Izaya's case.

* * *

He sighed, then as he trudged back home.

"You're home awfully early. Aren't you going to go out and terrorize Ikebukuro again?" Namie said sarcastically.

"Ah, Namie-chan, I figure I'll be going to bed early, seeing as...I have a house here."

"This is my place, you realize?" Namie said darkly.

"Yeah...? So?" Izaya said cheerfully, stifling a yawn.

"Whatever you're dealing with, you can deal with on your _own._ You don't need to sleep here."

"Oh, I can, and I will, Namie-chan, er, Namie-san. Sorry." He chirped.

"Some days I'd like to punch you into next week," She snarled under her breath as she watched the utterly irritating information broker she hated so much.

"Say, Namie-san...?"

"_Yes?" _She said, gritting her teeth together, very infuriated by this irritating man.

"What would you do if I told you magic was real, like I said before...and that there's an entire magical world...?" He said.

"Yes, Orihara, another one of your fantasies," She snarked.

"Oh, but this one is very much real, Namie-san. And these people believe themselves better than the rest of us. I know full well you won't understand half of what I'm telling you, because it seems like a stupid little fairy tale..._if only this were nothing but a quaint little fairy tale, hmm? _I read that in a manga where there was a crazy man talking about his life and how messed up it was and how no one believed him when he told them the truth."

"Seiji likes to read those," She muttered.

"Oh, really? Then it seems we do have something in common, Namie-san!" He chirped.

"Perhaps," She said, not exactly interested in the manga, anyway.

"Well, Namie-san, I shall be going to bed. Want to read me a story or give me a kiss?" He said sarcastically.

"Hell no. Go to your room and just _shut up."_

_"_Yes, indeed, Namie-san!" Izaya said, doing what looked like a break-dance.

Then, he suddenly vanished. Namie stared with wide eyes, as did the latter when he wound up on his own bed.

"How did I...?" He began, but stopped. Somehow, he had just apparated. 'Oh, crap,' He thought. 'Izaya, contain your magic, quickly, quickly, before they notice. The last thing I want is for them to notice and then they'll find out that I'm Harry Potter. Or I was Harry Potter. I don't want that to happen.'

Quickly, he managed to calm down his magical aura and tame it into the muggle one. But at times, it resurfaced like that and became a pain in the ass. "Much better," He said while stifling a yawn. "I love you humans so, so much...I'll just go to bed now." He muttered as he lay there.

Namie looked in on the criminal informant and noted in puzzlement that he was still wearing the same clothes he had been before. His black hair was still as untidy as it ever was.

It was then as he was lying there, asleep, that she happened to notice that there was a scar on Izaya's face. She could only make out the top of it, because Izaya's black bangs covered most of it. 'Wonder what he got that from?' She thought. She frowned, and then her eyes widened as he opened an eye and she realized it wasn't red, but green.

'Why are his eyes green and not red? Contacts? I should've figured...red isn't exactly a natural eye color. Who is Izaya, really?'

"...You didn't see...did...you? Did you...see...my...contacts?" He muttered.

"Yes, I did. What's it to you, Orihara? I don't care to go around spilling someone's secrets-especially when they're as disreputable as you. Hell, half of the rumors going around about you aren't true or false."

"...Don't say anything," He mumbled, "And I would like to change my real eye color...could you do that for me...?"

"Sure," She snarked, "Why don't you ask your friend Shinra to do that?"

"...Good point. I'll ask him and then I won't have to look at these damned green eyes...I hate them. By the way, Namie-san...what do the rumors about me...say?"

"Well, there are rumors out there saying that you're gay, an insane psychopath, a god in the guise of a human being, a walking internet troll in the guise of a human being, a demon or a devil, and some people even say that you're a magical person who goes around luring people into their castle. I don't believe any of it, though."

"Warlocks...I wish you wouldn't bring up that stuff..." Izaya muttered, running one of his slender fingers through his black hair.

"Orihara...what's with the scar?" She asked.

"...What?" He mumbled.

"You have a scar on the top of your head."

"Oh...this...I got it a long time ago...before I became the me I am now, I was hit..."

"Before you were what?" Namie said in confusion.

"Never mind," He said, his hands still clenched protectively around his black hair, it was as though he was trying hard to prevent something from being seen. But what?

'I suppose I could do him a favor and change that eye color of his,' She thought, 'Though red probably isn't what he wants.'

The next morning, Orihara Izaya woke a mess. His clothes were all covered in sweat, his hair was spiked up like usual. He glared at his eyes in the mirror. "Namie-san, did you see?" He said in a calm voice.

"Yes, I saw," She said, "And yes, I can change your eye color if you wish. I'm aware that you've already done eye surgery."

"That was just to correct my vision." He said.

"Why the red contacts?" She said sharply.

"Just so I could change my eye color. If you could change it to a permanent red, that'd be nice."

"I'll tell you when it is."

"Thanks!" He chirped before putting in his contacts.

'How odd. And all this time, I never thought to ask if his eyes were real. Guess pretty soon they will be.'

* * *

Percy Weasley couldn't help but shake his head at his brother's stupidity. Had he been the only one...the only one to see how evil Dumbledore was, and that he was playing them all for fools? Harry Potter...it was unfortunate what had happened to that boy, he thought, as he shook his head in that office.

Harry had just been a pawn in the old man's game. Even then, the boy had been too naive for his tastes. A wide-eyed staring little boy? Oh, Ron...Percy knew full well what kind of family his family was, which was why he had moved away from them. They were spying on their best friend, Ron was, and he acted like it was no problem. That had pissed Percy off, and that had been one of the reasons he had gotten into a fight with his mother.

He questioned why it was okay for them to do this to a young child. After some pointed arguments where, Dumbledore,_ Dumbledore_, and Dumbledore had been the main excuse for everything, Percy had fled the house, fled that accursed life, back to a better, new one.

"Is it true that Rita Skeeter's been murdered, Minister?" He said to the Minister, who flinched.

"Y-Yes. I hear a Muggle could've done it." He whispered.

"Muggles are too stupid for this kind of thing, wouldn't you agree, Cornelius?" Dolores Umbridge said. Dolores had absolutely no tolerance for idiocy in her job, and she wanted her job to be done in the best way possible.

"Why are you so irritated, Miss Umbridge?" He asked, like the suck-up he was.

"Well, you see," She sniffed, "I had to be sent to Japan with McGonagall-such an unpleasant old woman she is, and anyway she insulted my cats. But I ran into a polite young man with golden eyes who complimented my outfit. Oh, then McGonagall asked me if I would be spreading rumors that Harry Potter is alive."

"Definitely he's dead, no one can survive without their wands," Percy said.

"Yes, yes, indeed," Umbridge said, "It's not like anyone will miss him, though."

"Yes, that is so. I doubt there is anyone here who misses Harry Potter."

Percy blinked upon receiving a letter from Ron. "Finally." He said as he finished reading over it.

"What is it?" Fudge asked.

"It appears that we've found Severus Snape guilty of being against the light, according to Dumbledore." Percy said.

"According to Dumbledore? It always is, the old crackpot. I don't know if I'm losing my mind, but some days it seems to me like that old man is an insane megalomaniac."

"So, shall we give him the dementor's kiss?" Umbridge said, "I'd prefer it sooner rather than later. I can't wait to see him die."

Everyone else around her shuddered at her lack of empathy.

* * *

A few weeks passed after Izaya got the surgery done, and it worked. He looked just like he was supposed to do so, no damned green eyes. Finally his body had changed to suit his mind and now he was happy. He went to flip open his cell phone and saw several messages. One, surprisingly, was from Celty, another one from Shinra, and then another one from Fred and George.

He opened the one from Shinra first.

**Dear Izaya, are you all right? We heard that you didn't even want to fight Shizuo. We haven't seen you running around in Ikebukuro for a few weeks, so we wondered if you were okay.**

'Good old Shinra. He's still worried about me.' He muttered. "I care about him so much," He muttered under his breath.

_'Izaya, what's wrong with you?' _Celty had written.

"_**I think you already know, Celty-san. I'm a psychopath." **_

_**And then the last one said:**_

**Izaya, are you all right? We tried contacting you a few times, but you didn't answer. There's bad news coming, Izaya.**

'What bad news?' Izaya thought. He blinked and then read over it again and then his eyes widened.

_**H**_**ermione has asked to take a vacation. Apparently, she's going to come see us here. Either that, or else we can just use Floo to go back to England. We know enough of the wizards have been skulking around here and we don't want them to find you, Izaya. So farewell for now. We're leaving. **

Izaya read over it, his brow rising ever so slightly. He stared at his reflection. "She won't recognize me now that I have permanent red eyes. Great. This is all so great. She hasn't sent me any messages, either."

* * *

"Hurry up and make me my dinner, wench!" Ron cried, throwing a piece of bread at her with his wand. "I want my sandwich now, 'Mione!"

Hermione had a bruise on her head. Apparently, gathering time to prepare dinner was not enough for him. She rolled her eyes, wondering why she put up with this crap.

Yup, life in Ikebukuro was as boring as ever for Izaya...skulk around a bit, see whether anyone was on chat, do some dealings with his clients...all rather boring. Yet so far, there had been no sign of him yet. Izaya wondered where he was, as he sat reading on a park bench, utterly bored. Everyone around him recognized him at once and either stared at him in open-mouthed awe or decided to sit somewhere else.

"I wonder where he is...big, strong, blond Shizu-chan. It's like dear old Malfoy." He whispered.

He heard someone walking, and then his eyes lit up. "Oh, there you are, Shizu-chan."

Shizuo looked very angry, like always, but also very curious.

"Are you going to act normal for once, flea?" Shizuo growled. "Let's do what we always do."

Izaya smirked. "I was afraid you weren't going to ask."


	11. Chapter 11 Forgetting Life I knew

**A/N:I like all the attention this story's getting. Recently I went through and edited up most of the chapters so they look much better. I hope you like this and continue to do so in the future. I gotta say, I'm nearly finished with the Half-Blood Prince and I'm not too impressed with Harry/Ginny and Dumbles dying. I mean, I'm happy he's dead, but what's the point? Harry's just gonna angst instead of doing anything useful and becoming a proper protagonist. I just wonder why he didn't snap in the series to begin with. **

* * *

**"**_**It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane."**_

_**Philip K. Dick- brainyquotes. com**_

* * *

Eleven: Izaya's dilemma

Nine years had passed since her Harry had disappeared, and _still_, Ginny Weasley couldn't get him out of her mind. That was why, when Hermione mentioned that the Weasley twins were in the non-magical country of Japan, she had immediately been worried about their safety. Didn't they know what kind of people the Muggles were? The Muggles there and everywhere were cruel to those with magic.

What were they doing there that was so important, anyway? They hadn't written back to them for so long, except to torment Ron with spiders and just tell him that he needed to stop mistreating Hermione. This much was true, she thought. Poor Hermione had made a mistake in marrying her stupid brother, Ron. That was why Hermione was either going to come to Japan to see the Weasley twins, or else they were going to come back themselves.

As she thought over these things, the door to her room opened and Molly came in. She noticed that Ginny was looking at a picture of Harry and frowned. "Sweetie, why do you still pine for a dead boy? He's dead."

Ginny shook her head. "I know...but it feels like he's alive...somewhere."

Molly patted her daughter's head. "I know how you feel, but he's dead and a traitor. Even if he is alive, he's not worthy to be our hero. He ditched us when it was convenient and refused to let Dumbledore help him. How can we honestly love someone like that?"

Ginny shook her head. "Mom, what we did was wrong. We should have respected his freedom but instead we drove him to run away. It's our fault he left us in the first place. If we hadn't been spying on him and treating him like he was nothing, this wouldn't have happened. If I find Harry again, I will _not_ betray him again."

Molly hit her daughter. "Why would you _say such_ a thing? Dumbledore knows what's best for us. Harry needed us...he couldn't survive on his own without us...that's why you need to accept the fact that if he is alive, I will not let you see him again."

"Screw you, I'll do what I want!" Ginny cried, before running out.

Molly shook her head as she stared at the picture of Harry Potter. "I don't understand what she saw in you. You got what you deserved when you left us. Dumbledore was too _merciful_ on you. He should have punished you more harshly for ditching us. I _hate_ you. You made my little girl suffer."

Just then, a pair of familiar twins apparated in the room. They stared at their mother. "Mother, we're back," They greeted.

Molly's eyes filled with unshed tears then as she embraced her sons, crying. "Why did you leave? You could've just stayed with us."

"Woman, it's all right. We're allowed to take vacations every now and again. Japan was boring, but there were some interesting people. Did you know Japan is full of gangs and Russian Sushi? Oh, and there's a heavy guy who can snap wands in half!"

"Muggles are such weirdoes. You should stay away from them, sweetie. You don't want to hang out with criminals."

Fred and George just smirked as they went into their room, and whipped out their cell phone. They stared at their old friend's number. There was a text from him, under the name of 'Kanra-san.'

**No one knows that I'm still alive, do they? Well, to be honest, I don't give a damn. But still, tell me what those ignorant fools are doing. Be careful of how you message me-I'll change my number and my name as often as I can.'-Kanra**

"Smart Izaya. He always thinks with his head." Fred whispered in awe.

"Do you think Dumbledore put something on him when he was here to suppress his intelligence? He was never this smart before." George suggested.

"That sounds absurd," Fred said, "Nonetheless, it might have some merit. We'll keep in touch with him, but we'll try not to contact him too much, lest Dumbledore learns of his existence. I know he'll be just fine by himself. He's adapted to living as a Muggle so much it's so incredible. I love this new person he's become."

George said, "I know."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hermione wondered why Nakura-san hadn't sent her any messages in a while. 'He's just a sociopath who was toying with me.' She thought.

* * *

Izaya sighed as Shizuo chased him around. "Shizu-chan, now I'm in the mood for some fun!" He chirped, ignoring the screams of delight some girls sent his way.

"What on earth are the Muggles doing?" A witch said, watching the display in disbelief. "Are those two...fighting in the middle of a city? Are they nuts?"

"What are you, an idiot?" The girl said. "You've never heard of Shizuo Heiwajima and Izaya Orihara? The two of them hate each other with a passion and always fight out in the open. It's world-famous!"

The witch watched with wide eyes as the blond man picked up an air conditioner and threw it at the dark-haired young man, only for him to dodge lithely in a manner like that of a cat.

"Gonna have to try harder than that, Shizu-chan!" Izaya taunted.

"You bastard! I want to know why you didn't want to fight me yesterday! Tell me your secrets!"

"Now, now, Shizu-chan, that'd be no fun. The whole point of keeping secrets is never to unveil them, you realize?" Izaya taunted as he came towards Shizuo with his knife and barely missed cutting Shizuo's arm.

"Ah, yes, this is what I missed! I love it when you go all out on me, flea. It makes my day that much more enjoyable!" Shizuo boomed, throwing a vending machine at Izaya, who dodged.

"Shizu-chan, you suck at doing this lately. Something a little bit more original would do!" Izaya taunted again, throwing another blow to the side.

His phone rang and he picked it up. "Hmm...looks like the Dollars are doing something else again..." He whispered. 'So Ryuugamine-kun is still operating, huh?'

He smirked. "Shizu-chan, let's finish as soon as possible. I assume your younger brother is coming into town to see you, isn't he?"

"How did you know?" Shizuo growled.

"I'm an informant. Do you think I'm empty-handed?" Izaya taunted before laughing a cold laugh that scared the crap out of the witch, who ran away.

"What crazy Muggles!" She exclaimed, causing several girls to laugh at her stupidity.

"Shizu-chan, you've been distracted!" Izaya cried, starting to run away.

"YOU BASTARD, JUST BE BRAVE AND WIN A FIGHT, DAMMIT! RUNNING AWAY IS NO WAY TO PLAY A GAME!"

Izaya froze. "Running away is okay...if your life was on the line, Shizu-chan, would you stay behind and let yourself die? I'd rather be alive than dead."

"What are you saying, flea?" Shizuo said.

"Shizu-chan, you've dropped your guard. So now, let's part ways!" He exclaimed as he left.

He flipped open his phone and saw a message from _them. _He paused.

'**Yo. Got your message. We're glad you're all right. Mom's being possessive again and said some nasty stuff about your old self.' **

_'__**I see. She always was a nasty old bitch, wasn't she?' **_

* * *

He continued his leisurely stroll when he wandered into Kida again, who glared at him.

"Izaya...what are you doing skulking around here?" He spat.

"Just talking to some old...friends of mine." Izaya said cheerfully.

"...What do you know about magic, Izaya? The other day, you refused to tell me anything. Tell me what you know." Masaomi said coldly.

Izaya paused. "Hmm...let me say this...the answer is _no_. I tend to keep that sort of information to myself...let's just say I'd like to pretend that part of my life never happened. Isn't that simple enough, Kida-kun?"

Masaomi frowned. "What's with you and showing emotion? You don't show emotion. You're a sociopath."

"A sociopath I might be now, but I wasn't always, Kida. I once was foolish like you, I believed humans were kind and wonderful...but thankfully, my eyes were opened to something like that. Let's just say...I was used and betrayed by those who claimed to be my friends...they wanted me to die for something I didn't understand...so I _snapped and became wise. _Don't put too much trust in others." Izaya said before laughing darkly.

"...Another one of your lies, Izaya?" Masaomi said. "I don't believe one word of it."

"Oh, don't you? Then see this scar on my head? I got it from my old 'friend' when he decided to kill me by whacking me on the head, which gave me a concussion. That in itself is proof enough, Kida-kun. I don't lie about stuff like that." Izaya said darkly. "And don't repeat these words to anyone else."

"Who are you, really?" Kida asked. "What else are you hiding?"

"...I'm a demon, Kida-kun, one who thirsts for revenge on those who betrayed him. That's all. See you around, Kida-kun!" He said sarcastically before waving goodbye.

"...What in the world does he mean? Izaya, being like a human? That's absurd...utterly absurd..."

'It's more likely than you think,' The headless rider typed out.

"You can_ talk_?" Kida said in bewilderment.

The headless rider typed, 'I deal with Izaya and he's more complex than you think. I think he's broken deep down inside but has decided to be a psychopath to 'survive' and push away everyone else.'

"So how do you know this, Mr. Rider?"

The rider tensed and then made a gesture that seemed like it was sighing. 'I'm a _girl,_ actually."

"What?" Kida gasped. "How is that possible?"

'Wasn't it obvious by looking at me anatomically?' The rider typed, pointing at her chest. 'Honestly, you'd think people would know.'

"Whoa...you learn new things every day." Masaomi breathed.

'Your friend Mikado knows, too,' Celty typed. 'My name is Celty.'

"How does Mikado know you?" Masaomi asked.

Celty paused. 'I can't say that. His secrets are safe with me. I don't want to encroach upon his life. Ask him if you want.'


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'm reading the Deathly Hallows now and I'm...bored, as usual. They praise Dumbledore way too much for my liking. **

**Seriously, he's this dude we barely know and yet every single character flat-out, as I put it before, **_**sucks up **_**to this guy. **

**It's always "Harry, talk to Dumbledore," Oh my god, we're in horrible trouble, come save us, Headmaster! Don't they have a will of their own?  
**

**Oh, I'm beginning to like the anti-Dumbles thing written by Rita Skeeter. **

**I just wish the author had enough common sense to portray a writer in a better light, it just makes you think we're all horrible people. Bleah. **

**Plus, book Harry has about as much personality as a potato. **

**Anyone else feel Izaya and Shizuo resemble Tom and Jerry's chases? Shizuo is like Tom, the stupid cat who throws things, and Izaya is Jerry, the small mouse who's a smart alec who ticks off people with his words.  
**

* * *

**Twelve Voldemort's musings**

Voldemort was known by many names, some of which he hated, others which were all too-fitting for someone as 'dark' as he was. You-Know-Who was an exceptionally annoying one for him, why did people seek to call him something that inane? Honestly, did people not have enough respect for him to call him by the name he preferred to go by-Voldemort? It was infuriating, really, to try and even interact with anyone without them all shaking in their boots in fear.

Fear was a very useful emotion, true. Voldemort did enjoy his respect and loyalty, but if there was one thing he was not, it was a monster. He was not originally a monster; that had been started by the man who was responsible for ruining his life; the one and only Albus Dumbledore. If, at the beginning, when that kind old man had shown his true colors, perhaps he wouldn't have been swayed.

But Albus was _very_ good at pretending to be what he was not. Oh, play the part of a young, kindly headmaster and most fools would fall for the sham right away, but Voldemort had never been convinced that the Headmaster was always what he seemed. He just seemed, for lack of a better word...hollow. Like he was someone pretending to be human (rather like himself now, he had to add with a hollow chuckle) or just plain crazy.

It was annoying how easily Dumbledore wormed his way into peoples' trust just by saying a few little words and then he had those puppets wrapped around his thumb. It was most certainly disturbing to see how easily he was obsessed with little boys, particularly with Potter. Voldemort felt annoyed when he saw how easily the boy bent to Albus's control.

He didn't resist at all, instead he just was a lifeless puppet. Frankly, the boy annoyed him and he didn't have any patience for those who failed to use their intelligence to the best of their abilities. He wanted that boy dead, not because he followed the prophecy, but because he was not only a nuisance, he was also the tool Dumbledore was implementing for his own sinister purposes.

What had surprised him the most was when the boy had vanished after the war was over. According to the papers, he had snapped his wand in two (a very dishonorable thing for a wizard to do. A wizard didn't just snap his wand unless he wanted to lose his magic altogether, which would mean existing like a foolish Muggle) and had left an angry note calling out Albus for his stupidity. Voldemort had laughed when he had read the note. The boy had some common sense for once.

For an honest moment, Voldemort wondered if the boy would _perhaps_ come here to join his side. But he hadn't. He was just gone...his magic couldn't be detected anywhere. But he was gone. Whether he was dead or alive, he could not tell. He had tested the boy's scar to see if it would lead him to him, but to no avail.

Still, something in him whispered that the boy could not be dead. He was most likely in hiding somewhere. But where? Harry Potter could not hide forever. Albus had a lot of influence in the most unlikely of places.

Then, he had been startled to feel the boy's magical aura a day ago. It was small and faint, but it was there. It was..._darker and more threatening. _The boy had definitely gone dark. He had come to his senses. So where was he? How had he been able to hide for so long?

* * *

He didn't turn around when he heard a smooth voice in his room, one that spoke of elegance and of someone quite cunning. "_It's been a long time, _Voldemort-san. How have you been?" Cold, but polite.

Voldemort turned around to see a tall young man dressed in Muggle attire; some sort of black jacket with fur trimmings and black pants, wearing a silver ring on his fingers.. He had spiky black hair and blood-red eyes. "Who are you?" Voldemort demanded, icily. One did not simply barge in without an invitation.

The boy's smile widened into a predatory smirk. "Why, I'm hurt that you don't recognize me, Voldemort-san~. Of course, I have changed over the past nine years. I've shed my skin like a snake. I am the boy who once was a spoiled child, now grown into a lover of humanity," He said coldly.

"...Harry Potter, I presume? What are you doing in Muggle get-up?" Voldemort said in confusion, quite confused at the boy's air and way of carrying himself. It was like this person was a stranger.

The man grinned wickedly, sticking his hands in his pockets. "...It only makes sense that you don't recognize me, Voldemort-kun. After all, I've changed in _so_ many ways. I no longer go by the name Harry Potter. My name is Orihara Izaya, an informant and fellow criminal. How do you do? I've come to discuss some business," He said casually before pulling out a chess piece and flicking it in the air.

"...What happened to your magic?" Voldemort questioned. The boy seemed...odd.

"...I got rid of it. You don't have to worry, I've turned my back on that old fart. Of course, I no longer care about anyone except myself. When my 'friend' hit me on the head that day, he unleashed my true self. I am now a lover of humanity and what some would call a sociopath who doesn't care for society or nonsensical rules. I just love putting people in difficult situations and seeing what happens!" He chirped cheerfully.

Voldemort couldn't repress a smirk. "I take it you'd be a Slytherin now if you were still magical," He said dryly.

"I still use magic from time to time. What I would like to discuss is...revenge. Revenge against the man who ruined our lives. What do you say? We both get to use our pawns and show the world our true selves!" He said coldly, but smirking a cold smile all the same.

This was the side of the boy Voldemort had _always_ longed to see, the dark side, repressed by Albus's controlling, egotistical nature. It had always been there, if not controlled.

"Oh, yes. Tell me, where have you been all this time?"

"Japan, my dear Voldemort," He crooned, ignoring Voldemort's annoyed look, as Izaya sat down and looked at him in interest. "You won't believe how easy it is to make a new living there. There are so many interesting Muggles. I love them all-they're so much more interesting than that old bastard's little puppets ever were. Your hatred for me was real. But what you hated was an illusion, fabricated by the very man we both detest. What do you say?"

Voldemort was indeed feeling very glad, indeed. "I am glad you saw reason. Will you really ally with wizards, seeing as you don't consider yourself one anymore, Mr. Izaya?"

"As long as we do it on our terms and we don't come to think of ourselves as friends or any other foolish human inventions, that'd be _just_ fine with me!" He sang as he sat down. "I don't think you'd honestly tell a soul where I am. That would defeat the purpose of our game, would it not?"

The boy was astute, so much unlike the unobservant, dense boy he'd remembered so well. "...All right. But we must kill Dumbledore."

Izaya smirked gleefully. "I've been fooling around for a bit, but now it's time to get to work. First, I'm going to toy with the book nerd for a bit."

* * *

Hermione didn't expect the Weasley twins to come back home for the holidays, but they had. Also, for some strange reason they seemed to be using phones a lot, too. She wondered if possibly they were connected to someone they had met back in Japan.

"...Japan? You can come with us if you want." Fred offered. He glanced down at his phone in skepticism, wondering if this was really all right with his old friend.

'_Is it really okay if we bring her to Ikebukuro, Kanra-san?' _

The reply came back a few moments later.

**Sure, I've been dying~ to meet her. I don't care one way or the other, just make sure she learns who's been toying with her. This will be fun! **

George raised a brow in amusement. "I think it's okay. We'll take you to Japan with us in a day or so. You wanted to know more about this 'Nakura-san,' am I right? Well, he said he'd like to meet you in person, so we'll let him decide when he wants to see you."

"So he _is_ a guy," She repeated.

Fred and George burst out laughing. "Of course he is...well, wait and see for yourself."

It turned out that they were living in a ward of Japan known as Ikebukuro, and apparently, the man known as Nakura-san lived there, too, judging by his Japanese name.

"He said he'll meet you on the roof of this building soon. Just wait for him. He'll come," Fred and George said, as they disappeared. Hermione frowned. Was it really such a good idea to meet the man she'd been talking to online? But she wanted to know who he was, and how he knew so much about her.

* * *

Twenty minutes passed and Hermione was beginning to think she'd been deceived when...

"_Hello_ there," A smooth and elegant voice said, definitely with an accent. She turned around to see an Asian man standing there, looking at her in amusement. He wore a black jacket with white trim and black pants. He had quite a pale face, and was somewhat muscular, with black hair that stuck up at funny angles. His eyes were blood-red. "Granger-san, _I_ am Nakura-san."

"You've messaged me all this time?" She said.

The man just smirked at her. "That's _right_. I'm saddened to see that you don't recognize me, _'Mione." He _whispered before producing a predatory smirk.

"How do you know that name?"

"Hmm...how should I put it?" The man said before doing a little dance, "I know a lot about you. Your husband's name is Ron, you like to read and study a lot, all sorts of boring stuff," He muttered. "You have a cat named Crookshanks. Surely you realize who I am now." He said before smirking.

"H-Harry?" She stammered, in complete disbelief.

The man just grinned maniacally at her. "There was a time when I went by the name Harry Potter, but it's not my name anymore, nor is it legally or mentally," He said before getting up on the railing and walking around.

"Don't do that, Harry. You could fall."

"My name isn't Harry Potter anymore. My name is Izaya Orihara. I'm an informant. I've found that I rather enjoy living the life of an ordinary person, 'Mione. I wouldn't trade it for anything, much better than living in that stale old world, with those _stupid people, and that stupid Dumbledore." _

"Dumbledore isn't stupid! He's missed you, Har-"

"Call me _Izaya,_ please," Izaya said darkly, glaring at her. "And no, I have absolutely _no_ tolerance for humans who like to use others in their own games."

"Then that means _you_ were the one who sent me all those messages with you mocking Ron and laughing at me-why, why would you do such things? We're _friends_! I told you already, Harry, that I'm sorry. I'm honestly sorry for what I did."

Izaya looked at her for a long moment and then he burst out laughing. "Really? _Sorry,_ you say? I certainly didn't hear you say sorry when Ron hit me over the head, 'Mione...stupid little bookish 'Mione, always lost in her own little world. Then again, the Magical World is full of such ignorant fools."

Izaya jumped back down and continued to smirk at her. "The Muggle world is so much better than that depraved world. I will never again return to that world where I was betrayed and used. You have no idea what that pathetic asshole Runt's blow to the head did to me. It woke me up. You could also say it made me psychotic. This is the _real_ me. Let me explain it better: I love all humans, but I have nothing but contempt for wizards and witches. What a cowardly race they are; they all abandoned me when it was convenient. Even though you claim to be sorry, that's okay with me, but I don't give a damn."

He ran his hands through his black hair while smirking at her.

"...I don't care about anyone except myself. Self-preservation, you realize? All other humans do is hurt others. If I want to survive, I just have to hurt other people. You humans really are such fun little pawns to manipulate. I mean, both you and Ron were just using me, pretending to like me while confessing all my secrets. That innocent little boy you used to play pretend with is _gone. This is my true self," _He said before advancing on her. "Well? Are you going to hate me?"

"You're not the Harry I knew. You're nothing but a monster; a stone-cold psychopath."

"Ah, call me a psychopath if you want, but the true psychopath is Dumbbelldore. He's just using others like he sees fit, oh, and by the way..." He said before lifting up a bloodstained knife, "Who do you think it was who killed Rita Skeeter?"

"Why would you...why would you kill her?" Hermione said, tears spilling out of her eyes.

"You see, there are some humans who can't be allowed to live, especially those who know too much. When I say informant, I mean I work for anyone-for anything."

"Orihara!" A black-haired woman said, "Is this one of your customers?"

"Not exactly, Namie-san," The boy said casually.

"Well, if she's not one of your clients, just hurry up and finish whatever business you have with her and then we can leave!" Namie said before skulking off.

"Will do, Namie-san," He said cheerfully.

"Wait, Har-!" Hermione said.

"Just so you know, I don't hate you. It's just that I don't give a damn anymore." He pointed out at the darkness. "You see some of those buildings over there? I watched some girls jump off of there. It was quite fun seeing their blood splattered there. It just reminded me of how foolish I was...that back then I honestly wanted to die for the sake of a stupid cause...so, 'Mione, Harry Potter is dead. There is only me, Izaya Orihara. You cannot bring Harry Potter back, forget about him. He's as good as dead. HA HA HA HA! Look at your face, look at your _damned _face! It's so hilarious."

"You're nothing but a monster."

"Call me a monster, 'Mione, but so is that little plastic world you live in. I've turned my back on it, I'm making my own decisions. Come now, surely you're afraid of Ron. Surely you're sick of him and his smothering family. Come and join me-my life is _always _interesting~."

He offered his hand to her, but she smacked it away.

"You can't be the Harry I used to know, it's impossible."

"How about this?" He said, before brushing his black hair aside to reveal a scar.

"But your eyes-"

"They've been permanently changed because I couldn't stand them. They were ugly and hideous."

"Your other scar...?"

"Oh, I covered it over. It still hurts, but...well, I don't really give a damn about my old self anymore. It was just a lie. What's the point of lying? I just try to be honest," He said ironically.

"I'm telling Ron and Dumbledore-"

"Oh no, you won't. You won't tell anyone," Izaya said. "I've lived the last nine years of my life in peace and I enjoy it. I enjoy every moment of it." He whisked out his knife.

"You wouldn't-"

"If I really wanted to, I could kill you here and now. If your life with that idiot is so bad, why don't you jump to your death?"

"Don't you have any heart?" Hermione moaned, heartbroken at this knowledge.

"Not anymore. Like I said, 'Mione, I'm the 'troll without a heart.' "I am the one who observes humanity. I just watch them. Well, see you later!" He cried as he ran off.

"Harry...what has he become?" She said before collapsing on the ground and crying. "It's all our fault, if we hadn't betrayed him, he wouldn't have become this monster...this sadistic cruel person."

* * *

Hermione noticed that Harry, or Izaya as he now called himself, didn't send her any more texts. She was glad. Later on, she was out walking when she heard a crash.

A sign was being thrown at something. "DAMN YOU, FLEA, GET BACK HERE!"

"Ha ha, you've gotta catch me first, Shizu-chan! Don't get it wrong again!" A familiar taunting voice said. Her eyes widened upon seeing the boy once known as Harry, running and looking utterly happy. Behind him was a blond man with sunglasses in a bartender's outfit who looked angry.

"DAMN YOU, IZAYA, GET BACK HERE!"

"Shizu-chan, you're too slow~!" He taunted.

"Who are they?" She stammered.

"That's Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima! How stupid are you? They fight almost every day!" A girl said in bad English before giving her a stunned look.

Izaya's red eyes locked onto Hermione's for a moment and then he waved sarcastically and ran away.

"IZAYA, GET BACK HERE!" The man screamed.

"Shizu-chan, you're ever amusing and so predictable! That's why I love you humans so, so, much!" He cried.

"Dumbledore would never believe me if I told him..." She whispered.

"_Exactly,_" Izaya said as he appeared right next to her, doing his nails. "And that's the whole point of it, 'Mione. I know I can confide in you because I know you feel _bad_ about what you did to me. I'm quite happy like this. That's all there is to say, because even if you were to die, I wouldn't give a damn. I wouldn't care."

"IZAYA!"

"And...it looks like I have to run away before Shizu-chan catches me. See you later, Shizu-chan!"

"IZAYA, YOU PUNK! DON'T JUST RUN AWAY!"

"Shizu-chan, you are ever predictable."

"What the hell is wrong with him?" She thought, shaking in utter fear. "This wouldn't have been what they wanted. They wouldn't have wanted this."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:Time for the next chapter. This chapter is more Durarara-centric than the others have been. *-What manga did I reference there? Any guesses would be most appreciated. Mikado is one of my favorite characters, especially after the pen-stabbing incident with Aoba. "Stomach the full wrath of my anger." **

**Chapter 13 Answers**

* * *

"Answer me, flea. Who was that girl you were talking to?" Shizuo said to his rival, Izaya, as the latter sat there doing his fingernails, pretending he hadn't heard him at all. Oh, the frightened foreign-looking girl was long gone. Both Izaya and Shizuo decided to take their talk somewhere else-a talk between predator and prey...maybe Izaya meant more to him than that. Shizuo frowned and thought over that.

For one thing, Izaya was fun to beat up, but was he even thinking that their affections were more like friends...? Friends? Like he would ever consider Izaya a friend.

"What's this? You worried about me? Are you jealous, Shizu-chan? I guess you're not straight, are you?" Izaya purred, pausing from doing his nails in order to look at the enraged bartender.

"Flea, who was that? Why were you talking in English?" He said.

"Shizu-chan, I know other languages. Of course I can talk in them if I want to," Izaya said. His Japanese sounded smooth like always.

"Well, I like it best when you speak freaking Japanese, you idiot!" He cried.

He paused. "You know," He said, deflating, "Celty told me she thought you were a broken person inside. Is that true?"

"Hmm..." Izaya said, his eyes lighting up. "Maybe, maybe not. Shizu-chan, you can't get answers out of me unless you torture me. No, on second thought, you'd probably have to kill me and then do some sort of seance in order to contact my spirit, but I'd be burning down in hell."

"Who says you'd be going to hell?" Shizuo said off-handedly.

Izaya looked at him in confusion. "I was joking, Shizu-chan. You know I'm an atheist, so I don't believe in that nonsense."

"If what Celty said is true, then you weren't always the flea you are now."

"No...you could say so...I mean all men aren't born evil," Izaya said before grinning sadistically. "Some of us just wind up becoming that way."

"You know," Shizuo said, "I don't know why, but it feels like I can almost relate with you somehow, Flea. I've always wondered-tell me why you kill." He said sharply.

Izaya just looked at him and then his eyes turned cold. "It's the only way I can feel _alive_. A long time ago, my innocence, my hopes, my dreams-they were all crushed before my very eyes. The only thing left for me is nothing but the love of all humans...and thus I learned that I am best alone."

Shizuo blinked. "Flea-no, _Izaya, you bastard, _isn't that too lonely?"

Izaya just blinked again and stared at him. "Ah, Shizu-chan's acting so familiar with me! Has he perhaps developed a crush on me?" Izaya chirped.

"Say any more, flea, and I'll toss you in the garbage can!" Shizuo said.

"Oh, Shizu-chan, you love me too much to do so...like some of those stupid novels I was reading on the Internet..." Izaya mumbled.

"You read _what _on the Internet?" Shizuo demanded.

"Ah, nothing...I don't know what you would call them...but they were some novels that Erika-chan lent me. In them, they had pictures of you and I kissing and making out..."

Shizuo's face turned bright red. "What? Who the hell wrote that stuff? That's sick!"

"Oh, I don't know. I had fun burning their remains," He said gleefully, "Now what was it you wanted to tell me again?"

"There you go again, dodging the question. You're just an enigma, flea. No matter how much I think I know, there's more to you, bastard."

"You don't know the half of it!" Izaya said, "Knowledge is what I live for." It was also so he didn't feel completely empty inside. The cynicism of Izaya Orihara overtook most of his old self. 'Maybe I can trust Shizu-chan,' He thought briefly. 'No, humans just use others. He's just a pawn I use in my game-that's all. Haven't I become exactly like that old fart?' A moment of self-realization came over him.

'Old Voldie and I will both get our own way. Like that character from that manga I read, who said there's no such thing as good or evil, there was just our will. And the main character is contracted to a bloodthirsty rabbit.' *

"Flea!" Shizuo cried, grabbing Izaya by his jacket collar. "Flea, tell me everything, what are you hiding?"

"Oh, I don't know...maybe about 100 dollars in change?" Izaya snarked as some coins fell out of his pockets.

"Stop goofing around! Where'd you get that crap?"

"Oh, a couple of my friends lent it to me."

Suddenly, a few clouds of colored gas exploded. Shizuo was left coughing as Izaya made his escape. "I'll have to thank you for that one when I next see you...Fred, George." He said before smirking. It certainly was the perfect getaway.

"DAMN YOU, IZAYA!" Shizuo cried, now having discovered that the colored smoke had dyed his once-blond hair was now flaming pink along with his outfit. So he decided to rampage through Ikebukuro, now whining about Izaya's prank.

* * *

Izaya couldn't help but chuckle hysterically as he witnessed that, and of course, Fred and George collapsed in fits of laughter whenever he met with the two of them and told them.

"So...Shizu-chan was really that messed up?" Fred said, trying hard to hold his stomach.

"Yes...he discovered his hair was pink when he looked in the mirror, though." Izaya said.

"Oh, god, this is like old times, Izaya, except back then you never wanted to play any pranks."

"Yes, but humans really are such fun pawns to toy with." Izaya said.

"You shouldn't call people pawns, Izaya. It makes you sound too much like Dumbledore."

"I'm nothing like that old fart," Izaya said curtly.

"True...you have a better dress style," Fred said.

"Yes..." Izaya said dryly. "I wouldn't be surprised if that old dude was a pedo. He always struck me as the type. Shizu-chan...he's so fun to torment. Just thinking about him makes me excited to think of more ways to torment him!"

The Weasley twins paused. "So...you met with Hermione...and she told us about her encounter with you."

Izaya noticed they were now looking at him with serious eyes.

"I don't think you should have done what you did to her."

"Why not?" Izaya said casually. "Maybe I did go a little too far, but I had to open her up to the reality of the situation. I'm not the same innocent little boy she toyed with."

"Yeah, but...you shouldn't have told her to kill herself. She was crying and was a real mess. I guarantee you she won't go over to Dumbledore."

"If anyone's good at keeping secrets, it's Mione. Especially since she has over a million of them," He said before ripping a piece of paper.

"Got blackmail information on Ron?" The twins said, "But we have a hundred more of his secrets that we can tell you."

"Will do," Izaya said cheerfully.

"But seriously, Izaya," Fred said, swiping the paper away from Izaya's fingers, "I know that you're a psychopath, and you've changed your ways, but we're still your friends. I want to pass a message on to you."

"And what message would that be?" Izaya said, stifling a yawn in boredom.

"Don't toy with Hermione anymore. Breaking her heart like that was just too much. Izaya, you went too far."

"Hmm...you may be right. Besides, she's the one who betrayed me. Why should I be sad?"

Upon seeing their harsh gazes, his smirk widened.

"Have you...forgotten how to smile? I mean, really, honestly smile, Izaya?"

"Hmm...I only feel happy when I'm around my little sisters and Shinra. That's about it. I've never truly smiled since that time I was being fed all those lies. Even now, I've realized that I've never truly been happy in my life. If you call this feeling that I'm having now with you and enjoying all this time when I'm getting away with everything, then yes, I'd say I'm happy!"

Fred and George shuddered slightly. "Izaya...maybe you should cut back on the killing a bit."

"Hm?" Izaya just looked at them in curiosity.

"We're...willing to accept your new name and personality, but we would like it if you didn't kill so much...it's sort of unnerving."

"Ah, but take note of this...I usually try not to kill children, and I don't really kill girls, they do it themselves, after all. Some cases were self-defense and others were morally reprehensible people who _deserved to die."_

"So, Izaya, got any good plans set for Shizu-chan?" They said, changing the uncomfortable subject.

* * *

Izaya just sighed. As much as he liked spending time with those two, their constant questions were getting annoying. He was used to this new life, dammit, and killing was...integral. It was a part of him...well, the headmaster wanted him to die. It was simply the way he was now; he couldn't change himself now. "I just do what _I feel is right, _do what satisfies me. That's what I've always done." He whispered. 'But where has that led me? Oh well, I mean...if my 'family' could see me again, I wonder what their reaction would be.'

"Actually feeling **emotions **now, are we, _Izaya?" _The familiar voice of Masaomi Kida spat, glaring at him with intense golden eyes. Oh boy, the boy was certainly good with his hatred.

"Nice look of hatred on your face today, Kida-kun." Izaya taunted.

"Izaya," Masaomi said, "Explain to me what you meant by your story."

"I don't have to explain _anything." _Izaya said curtly. "I don't intend to repeat it to anyone else, Kida-kun..." He said, getting more irritated, "Please leave me alone."

"So that's what you want, huh, Izaya? You claim to love humanity, but all you really want is to be left alone, because you're nothing but a coward." Kida spat. Those words struck something deep within Izaya, and angered him even more.

'I wasn't a coward when I left. It was for my own good.'

"My, my, you could say that about the person who ran away and left his girlfriend."

Kida's eyes widened. "You dirty traitor," He growled. "You're just using her."

"She just tends to believe in me, that's all." Izaya said dully. "It's never stopped people from believing in me before, I mean they were all naive idiots, but what choice did they have? I mean, even back then, I knew it was hero worship. But I learned the truth."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing that significant, Kida-kun. Now if you don't mind me, I'll be leaving."

Kida frowned as he watched Izaya walk off...what was with him lately? His mood swings...but the fact that he was showing some humanity was startling. Though showing humane acts of kindness from the sociopathic criminal he was, it was very rare. It was then that he realized that Izaya had dropped something; a slip of paper. He picked it up and read it, and then his eyes widened.

"No...way," Kida whispered. Written on it in plain, black letters were the following words:

**Let me talk to you, Mikado-kun. I'm sure the Dollars have been very, very interesting, huh? Of course they are for you...I mean, you're the man who founded them. -Izaya**

"No...way...Mikado is..."

Images of a smiling, innocent boy drifted into his head.

"Mikado is the leader of the Dollars? Oh my god...this must be another one of Izaya's lies...but that means..." His fists tightened. 'I need to sort things out with Mikado. What the hell is he doing?'

* * *

Mikado smiled to himself as he was on his chatroom. Everything was going just fine...he had more people joining the Dollars...what could possibly go wrong? At that moment, his door flung open and a furious Masaomi Kida come charging through it.

"Oh...Kida-kun, did one of your dates ditch you or something?"

What he was not expecting was for Kida to grab him. "Mikado...explain _this," _He said in a deadly calm voice.

"Explain what?" He said, putting on his innocent mask. It was then that he saw the paper in front of him, written in Izaya's familiar handwriting. "Izaya...? It's just one of his jokes, Kida-kun."

"Do I look like I'm joking? Explain it to me, Mikado...why are you in charge of the Dollars?"

Mikado frowned. "Well...I...uh..." He said nervously.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from people like that?"

Mikado dropped his kind demeanor right then and there. "Kida-kun, I've got to do something with my life. Otherwise, it's just too ordinary." He said sharply.

"Mikado...?" Masaomi said, not recognizing this Mikado.

"I suppose...I should tell you," He said icily before dropping down into his seat. "Kida-kun, I guess I should tell you...my story."

"Who _are _you?" Masaomi said.

"Like I said, I'm your friend Mikado Ryuugamine, Kida-kun, but I won't deny that I'm the leader of the Dollars."

"Why...?" Masaomi said.

"I'll explain to you," Mikado said, still in that same detached voice that scared Masaomi to no end.


	14. Chapter 14 Broken pieces

**A/N:Oh, geez, I've got less time to update this fanfiction than ever. So I'll make this fast: within the next few days, I won't be online as much, because I've got to help someone with work. I'm on 'vacation,' you could say. That person doesn't like me being online that much, which sucks for you readers who can't wait to read my stuff. I've really improved and I really appreciate all of the support. But don't forget I have a real life outside fanfiction. Yes, we all wish fanfiction was real. But it's rather irritating when people say fanfiction does not count as writing or as a job. But it **_**is. **_**Writing is hard to do properly, and when you have good ideas, it's hard to get them down in just the right way. I've got to also deal with sending damned online applications (god, how I hate those) and be forced to go to bed early. Early to bed is for wimps! Also, I created a badass comic strip for this series. :D **

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen Broken Pieces  
**

Izaya Orihara was having quite a complex day, that much was certain. He was for some reason slipping up about his past as that idiot wizard to everyone. If he didn't cover his tracks soon he'd be history. Calming himself, the young information broker knew Namie wouldn't dare reveal his secrets; the woman honored enough of their business deal, but not only that, if she dared to, he would reveal her secrets as well.

He sighed as he spun a chess piece lazily with one hand and watched an irritated Namie doing her best to pretend he didn't exist, which she did perfectly. He was suddenly reminded of his past, when his former 'family' had repeated to him such jolly words like, 'I'll be in my room pretending I don't exist.'

He chuckled out loud, but still Namie did not pay him any attention. Izaya gritted his teeth in frustration; he didn't know why, but today, today he was..._bored. _Boredom was not a good thing for a psychopath like Izaya. He rarely was this bored, he needed something to occupy himself with. Namie wasn't falling for his usual tricks.

"Namie-chan?" He asked, in the most falsetto tone imaginable. No reaction. He blinked. This was _new. _"Namie-san? Namie-san, Namie-san..." He said a few more times and was shocked to see her ignore him and continue working. What was wrong with her today?

He dropped his chess piece in shock, causing it to make a loud noise. "...What?"

Namie just smirked. "...Orihara, do you have nothing to say to me today? Are you going to tell me anything besides your usual chorus of insults, complaining and general scheming to take over the world? Because if I haven't missed anything life-changing, I think I'll be getting back to my work right now. We're playing the silent game."

Izaya groaned. "...I think Namie-san must be an imposter today. The normal Namie-san is ruthless, sarcastic, and generally very twisted! Plus she hasn't mentioned her brother at all!"

Namie sighed. He had found a weak point again, and now he was going to enjoy tearing her apart. She thought of herself as a sociopath, but Izaya was just plain insane. There were times when the man scared her half to death; he seemed less like a human and more like a snake in the guise of one. "...Orihara, are you even _human?" _

His reaction surprised her, because he didn't say anything, no clever retort, no dark laughter, no nothing. Instead, he was just speechless. Finally, he smirked. "...Unfortunately, yes, I am. I'd rather be a human than some mythological creature."

'I got Fred to obliviate her memories of my different eye color and of my telling her about my past. That was one thing that stupid magic is useful for. I don't care as long as I'm not caught by those bastards again. Hell, she could even die and I wouldn't care.'

"Orihara, are you even thinking about anything besides being a douche?" She said snidely.

Izaya laughed. "...Sorry, Namie-san. My emotions are frozen inside me. I wish I could melt them, but I fear that won't be happening any time soon."

"...You're showing feelings, Orihara? This must be the end of the world. Come now, tell me what made you the way you are."

He glowered at her. "...Ever spend time locked outside, unable to get in, in the freezing cold, and your 'family,' doesn't care to let you in and would be so happy to let you die out there? Ever be trapped in a room all day and not be allowed out except to use the bathroom? Hmm...let's see...when I was five I was whipped until I bled because I dared to steal food from my 'family's' plates because the only thing I'd had to eat was a crust of bread and a tiny cup of water, when I was six, I was thrown outside again for daring to attack the dog who lashed out at me for no reason and nearly severed my arm-"

"You must be lying again, Orihara. Another one of your fancy tales-" She said.

"...I must've imagined this wound, then," He said, showing her a raw scar on his arm. "...Believe what you want to, Namie-san, but that was my life...until I decided to do things my way and started my own life."

She was shocked by the intense anger in his words. Anger? The most emotion he usually showed was sadistic glee in someone else's suffering, laughing over his own triumphs, or smirking when he annoyed someone successfully.

"...Who are you?"

"...Orihara Izaya, a lover of humanity." He said before smirking his usual grin. His mask was back on again. So it was a mask after all. Deep down inside, he had a heart...though deep, deep, down...she thought in bemusement.

"...Are they dead now?"

Izaya blinked. "Who?"

"The people that did those things to you," She said matter-of-factly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She looked interested, and in a way, _concerned? _Now he was thinking too much. She didn't give a damn about him.

"No. But I wish they were. They were the first people I ever wanted to kill." He admitted, and then an idea came to his mind. "...That gives me a wonderful idea."

Quickly, he whipped out his cell phone and dialed a number. "~Hello! Oh, don't act so depressed, Dota-chin. It's just me, why is that a reason to get so annoyed? I sound different? No way! Listen, can you do me a favor? I was just wondering if you could send Erika-chan and Walker-kun over to do someone in. Oh, they want to use gasoline and you won't let them? That's mean. Well, here's the thing: these people live in England, so...it's going to be a hard job. Oh, that's not very nice, Dota-chin. You shouldn't use such vulgar language! Oh, well...I suppose I will have to do it myself. I'm not a coward, Dota-chin. Bye!"

"You are so infuriating." Namie snarked.

"...Hmm...this is going to be difficult. But how wonderfully intriguing! I was waiting for something interesting to come and hit me and here it is. How can someone get to England from Japan in a second? ...Aha, I've got it." He grinned then as he decided to use Ryuugamine-san's website.

"That problem's taken care of!~" He cried out before spinning around to face Namie in his chair, a wicked smirk on his face.

"Do you ever smile?" Namie asked in curiosity.

"Smiling is artificial. Why should I indulge in something that pretentious? Happiness is an illusion." Izaya said sardonically.

"Well, aren't we a cynic?" Namie said sarcastically.

"Ahahaha, I appreciate your words of wisdom, Namie-chan. It just so happens that I shall be smiling...finally, those hellions will get what's coming to them."

"If you wanted to kill them, why not do it yourself?" Namie said.

"...I wanted to, but this is so much more entertaining!" He exclaimed before playing with his chessboard some more.

"...I see," She said demurely, not really understanding. "...If I wanted to kill someone, I would do it myself, Orihara."

"...Oh, I want to...so much so, that I'm nearly breaking this chess piece!" He said, holding up a chess piece that was cracked. "Perhaps I've picked up some of Shizu-chan's strength!"

"God bless Shizuo. At least he knows how to shut you up," She snapped.

"God? He doesn't exist," Izaya said happily. "Don't believe in fantasies."

"...Prove that, Orihara. Prove to me that magic doesn't exist."

The chess piece snapped in half and fell on the floor as Izaya stared at it in surprise and then he glared at her deeply. "...Well, it looks like I've broken another one. I don't know why I do that...perhaps they're just made of glass or something-"

"Did I touch a nerve? Do I have to wave a wand and say Orihara stop being so annoying-"

* * *

CRACK.

At that moment, another chess piece broke and a glass object fell to the ground, shattered from the blow of Izaya's knife against it.

"Done with your temper tantrum, Orihara? Shall I perhaps cast a-"

Izaya stood up, his red eyes deadly calm. "Namie-san, _never say such pathetic words in front of me. _Magic is not real, it is a damned fantasy."

"So something gets under your skin now? I'm astonished."

"Don't push me, Namie-san..." He hissed, his knife twitching in his hands.

"What did you break, anyway?" She asked, coming towards the glass object, but Izaya was faster. He noticed it first and his eyes widened.

"...My, how careless of me." He said calmly.

"What is it? Is it a picture of Seiji?" She hissed.

"Nope." He said darkly before picking up the shards in his bare hands. "Oh, I got cut. Nice. Blood is such a lovely color."

Orihara was off, today.

Strange.

* * *

Izaya stared at the shards of the strange object in his hands. What was it that he had shattered, anyway? He realized what it was at once and then his eyes widened in shock. It was of _his birth parents. _The only photograph he had of them-and he had _broken it _with his own carelessness.

Izaya felt no sadness rise in him, only irritation and a faint pang of guilt before it faded into a feigned calm. "I'll go rinse it off."

He glared at the picture as he tried to fit the pieces back together, but failed. The glass shards cut into him, as if they blamed him. Well, of course they did. He raised an eyebrow. "Okay...this should go fine. It'll be just fine." He attempted to fit it in again, but once again every time he tried to fit the glass pieces in they fell apart.

He frowned at this, then it turned to irritation as he tried to make them fit back together. He tried one last time, but this time the pieces completely broke, and tore the picture clean in half. Izaya watched the photo fall to the ground, completely shocked.

"...No," He whispered. "This sucks...well, it was just a picture, anyway."

He recalled the memory behind that...that man who had been his godfather-the one who had been thrown in jail and tortured to near insanity-didn't that sound familiar-he had given it to him-and he'd broken it.

Izaya felt no satisfaction, no tears prick his eyes. Instead, all he felt was a bitter regret.

"Orihara, are you done with your pouting?" Namie said. Izaya quickly shook the look off his face and replaced it with his default stoic look.

"...Namie-chan, it was nothing important, really. It was just a picture of Shizu-chan that broke."

She wasn't convinced.

* * *

Elsewhere, Sirius Black looked up in shock upon seeing the picture of Harry he had on his wall fall to the ground and shatter into pieces. "What does that mean? ...Is he dead?"

"My son can't be dead," The portrait of Lily said to her husband's frame, who nodded.

"No, he's alive. He wouldn't die on us. Sirius, we're depending on you to look after our son."

"...The Ministry decided to declare Harry Potter dead. They said Dementors did it." Sirius spoke slowly, allowing the tears to fall out of his eyes. "I guess he really was dead, all this time."

Izaya skulked down the street, cursing himself and anyone else who passed by, kicking rocks at girls, at anyone in particular, until-

"IZAYA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN IKEBUKURO AGAIN?"

A stop sign came flying near him, but Izaya didn't even bother to dodge, allowing it to strike his leg, which winced a little in pain.

"...Oh, Shizu-chan." He said dully, and then continued to walk on.

"IZAYA, DON'T IGNORE ME, YOU BASTARD! COME BACK HERE AND FIGHT!"

Another sign was heaved at Izaya, but he didn't bother to dodge and instead let it hit his knife instead. "Screw off, Shizuo."

Instantly, he felt himself being lifted up. "WHAT DID YOU SAY, IZAYA, YOU JERK? YOU'RE SO ARROGANT THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST WALK AWAY?"

Izaya glared at him. "Put me down, Shizuo. I don't want to play your games today."

Shizuo dropped Izaya in utter shock. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing is...the world is wrong, Shizuo. Get used to it. But I'll be in better spirits tomorrow."

He didn't expect Shizuo to grab his shirt again.

"Listen, punk, you don't waltz away from me. What's wrong with you?"

He stopped as he noticed the broken glass in Izaya's hand, that was still bleeding. Izaya was clutching a torn photograph. "What is this, flea?"

"Shizuo, let go of me. Now." He said sharply.

"You ripped up something for fun, didn't you?"

Izaya's punches really hurt when he meant them, Shizuo thought.

"For once, Shizu-chan, I accidentally did something wrong. Now please leave me alone."

"You're not Izaya."

"I am," Izaya said bitterly.

"Izaya, going to run to your parents-"

"Shizu-chan, my parents are dead and I tore the only photo I had of them. That's all." Izaya said darkly.

Shizuo deflated. Izaya looked almost sad, but not really. More like...crushed.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Wow, thank you so much for all the reviews! Yes, the song Everybody loves me really **_**does suit Izaya, don't you think? **_

* * *

**Chapter 15 Everybody loves me **

Izaya stood away from Shizuo, who was still glaring at him intensely and was showing no sign that he wouldn't _still punch him into next week. _"...Shizu-chan," He whispered, lightly, his dark hair hiding his crimson eyes, "Leave me alone_ now_."

"So you _do_ have _feelings, flea," _Shizuo sounded slightly derisive, though Izaya knew he probably would have a lot to answer to him sooner rather than later. "When did the world suddenly become so skewed, flea? Hmm...what happened to the flea who enjoys forcing the world to bow to his morals, who enjoys having me chase him around...I ask this, because I think you're lying again, Izaya."

Izaya was growing tired of this discussion, and tired of Shizu-chan's annoying, repetitive insults. "...Shizu-chan, _leave me alone. I won't say it again." _

Shizuo didn't budge. He didn't leave the young information broker alone. He knew that something about the disgusting, morally repulsive flea was _not right-and had not been right for the past few weeks. _He wanted the regular Izaya back-the taunting, sneering one who laughed in the face of danger, not this annoying, wimpy one who refused to fight him.

"Flea...in case you weren't aware, your hand is _bleeding." Shizuo pointed out.  
_

"So? What do you want _me_ to do about it, Shizu-chan? It's from a piece of glass, to be more accurate...I got it stuck in my hand when I tried to pull it out from this torn photo frame."

"YOU BASTARD, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN HOW YOU GOT HURT, JUST ACT LIKE YOURSELF FOR ONCE, YOU IDIOT!"

Shizu-chan really could be quite _intriguing _when he was this angered, Izaya thought in fascination. "Say, Shizu-chan, by any chance, do you happen to have male PMS?" He chirped.

Shizuo's face turned mauve in a few seconds, his fists tightening in rage. Ah, it was happening again. That Shizuo rage Izaya knew so well. Yet, he was both relieved and not relieved to see it. It was so much like dear old Uncle Vernon.

"...Izaya..._what_ did you say?" He growled.

* * *

Izaya clapped his hands in amusement. Finally, he was feeling a _little_ bit better. Nothing could really _fix _the fact that the last remnant of his old life had been torn to pieces, but did he _really_ give a damn about that anymore? He was the scariest and most dangerous informant around, Orihara Izaya, and he feared no one.

"Ah, there it is, Shizu-chan, your anger is ever so **amusing~! **Show me some more of it!" He cheered as he jumped up on the roof of a nearby building, grinning at the furious blond.

"IZAYA, YOU PUNK! NOW YOU'RE BACK TO HOW YOU USUALLY ARE!"

"My, if I didn't know better, I would say Shizu-chan _actually_ gives a damn about my life! I'm shocked, indeed!" Izaya scoffed, and almost didn't dodge the huge air conditioner tossed in his direction.

"Flea, stop talking and start dodging before I crush you to death!"

"Shizu-chan, you _wuv _me too much to do so~!" Izaya chirped.

"What was that, you little punk? I don't love you, I want to smash you into the ground until there's nothing left of you!"

"My, such violence! I love it!" Izaya cried, cackling hysterically, like he usually did, until his scar started to burn under his hair. Flinching, Izaya staggered and tried to resist it. "Well, Shizu-chan..." He said, ignoring the burning sensation in his head, which told him that Voldemort was torturing someone. The sensation only gave him a little feeling of triumph. He knew old Voldemort wouldn't be so stupid as to change the rules on him. He knew better than to play dirty with him.

"Flea, is something wrong?" Shizuo actually sounded concerned for a moment, but Izaya swayed slightly, ignoring the burning pain in his head; knowing it couldn't be helped. It would never go away, even if he hid it.

"Shizu-chan, I'm fine. No need for you to be worried about me!" He chirped as he jumped and nearly hit Shizuo with his switchblade, only for Shizuo to disappear at the last second and gain the upper advantage.

"Ah, flea, you were playing dirty, so did you expect me to play fair as well?" Shizuo growled as he hit Izaya with a sign.

"Touche, Shizu-chan!" Izaya chirped. "I suppose you're right about _some_ of those things."

"Flea, when do you ever play by the rules?"

Izaya grimaced and then it quickly sharpened into a wicked grin. "Well...some rules are meant to be _broken, Shizu-chan!" _

"I know that, flea...still, are you all right? For the past few weeks, you haven't been acting like the Orihara Izaya I know so well." Shizuo pressed his hand down menacingly near the informant, mainly to prevent him from running away while they had their little talk.

"Since _when_ did you start caring about me, Shizu-chan? Last I knew, you liked ramming me into things, knocking me around...that sort of thing. So there's nothing for you to say."

"Hell yeah, there's a heck of a lot more for me to say, flea!" Shizuo said, grabbing a startled Izaya and allowing the pain on his forehead to increase. "Stop being such a psychopathic asshole who uses others for his own gain! And stay out of Ikebukuro!"

"Aw, is poor wittle Shizu-chan mad? Is it possible that you've developed a crush on me or something?" Izaya taunted.

"No, flea, I just want you to stop being such a self-centered asshole and start learning how to be a decent human being!"

Izaya chuckled and then laughed maniacally, an act which not only infuriated Shizuo, but also scared him. "What's wrong, Shizu-chan? Have I scared you...? _Good_. I must let you know one thing. I am _above_ humanity, I don't succumb to their petty emotions, their disgusting, ludicrous, self-centered, twisted ways...I watch them rise and watch them fall like the pathetic little creatures they are...sparing a look of pity for them...pity that they hadn't resisted their fates some more. I mean, what's more pathetic than giving into a destiny that isn't yours and just not even fighting at all?"

Shizuo glowered at him, and then he slugged him so hard that Izaya fell to the ground, writhing in pain, clutching his cheek, which now felt absolutely numb. He could feel red crimson dripping down his face, and landing on his slender fingers...

"Let me tell you something, flea...it's that disgusting attitude of yours that repulses me. No, it's more than that; it's that cackle you make every time some innocent girl you befriend online and then toy with decides to off herself because you've fucked with her mind; it's that face I see with no emotion as he mocks his 'prey' and lets them suffer because he thinks he's doing them a 'favor', and also, it's that damned lack of self-empathy you have. Can't you feel for those people you cut down and lead to madness? No, you can't. You're convinced you're above everyone else, Izaya. No one else can tell you you're wrong; they must be insane. That must be the answer for everyone that can see through your facade and see you for the twisted, insane bastard you are-"

"..."

"I'm not finished yet, bastard. You know what else I hate about you? I hate your goddamned self-righteousness, how you think this entire world revolves around _you and your pathetic schemes. _God of the world? No, you're just an egotistical asshole who feels it's okay to put others down, because he's really that insecure about his madness that he feels he should drag down others with him. IF, you had any heart Izaya, you'd be changing your ways. But no, all you do is cling to your pathetic lies and make excuses."

Izaya glared at him fiercely, his crimson orbs blazing in anger. "...You're _wrong, Shizuo. _You know _nothing about me." _

"Izaya, I don't need to know anything more about you. I know enough to know that you're a twisted, vicious, egomaniacal, psychopathic jerk with no heart."

"...Then how about the fact that if something happened to my little sisters, I'd fight and die protecting them? Think I have no heart, Shizu-chan? Then how about _you _deal with the truth that your entire existence has been a pathetic sham set up by a twisted person who spent years befriending you and gaining your trust just so you could die for his pathetic 'cause' and left you to suffer for years without bothering to tell you everything would be all right? Oh, and you know who gave me this scar, Shizu-chan? A dear old friend of _his. _Not my friend, Shizu-chan. It's him who made me into the human you see before you today. He bashed my brains in and felt absolutely no sympathy for me as I lay there, begging for mercy. Wouldn't you develop a hatred for such disgusting beings as I did? Perhaps I _may_ be a corrupted bastard to you, but seeing as you know nothing about _my fucking_ life, why don't you shut up and listen? Now I know you don't want to hear any more from me, Shizu-chan, so I'll be going now."

"Flea..." Shizuo breathed.

"_What?" _Izaya snapped, giving him a cold stare.

"Is that...really true?" He said.

"_All of it_ is sadly true, Shizu-chan. Humans are capable of such awful, twisted things. They made me into the person you see before you. Perhaps I may be a walking caricature of a human being, but at least I'm alive. I'm determined to live, Shizu-chan, and I will only live for myself, even if it means toying with others or using them," Izaya said bitterly. "And alas, my last living thing tying me to that wretched, disgusting life has shattered, so there's nothing left."

Shizuo was speechless. His rival, his most hated enemy was pouring his _heart out to him, and his own emotions? _Had hell frozen over or something? What the hell was going on here?

"Flea...are you serious?"

"As serious as I'll _ever be, Shizu-chan," _Izaya said. "Now, enough with the sob stories."

"Look, Izaya, don't be like this. So what? This is what you're going to make of your life? Get freaking real, man!" Shizuo cried.

"So what, Shizu-chan? I don't care about that time in my life anymore. I will be fine. And I really don't care anymore. Shizu-chan, it's been fun, but now it's time to end our little game. Let's play again some other time."

As Izaya left, he heard the whispering words of Severus Snape in his ears, little more than a memory disintegrating in the past, whispering harsh truth. 'You cannot escape who you are."

Izaya glared at the ripped photo in his hands, and then ripped it into shreds with his bare hands.

Nine years...nine long years and still. those damned people wouldn't drop the subject, wouldn't let him live his own life. He spoke quietly on the rooftop of an empty building.

"Nine...years, huh? To think I've lived here and made my own life for nine damned years and still they won't leave me alone. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! To think...they're never bringing him back. Harry Potter...that foolish, idiot is gone for good. He'll never be back. IF I do have to be dragged back down to hell, _I'll bring you down with me, old man_. Prepare yourselves; if you don't get the hell out of my life, I'll make you and your entire world suffer. I'll butcher you in your sleep. Be prepared for Orihara Izaya. But first...I think I should pay a visit to my _beloved_ relatives." He said, before using a bit of his 'magic' to teleport himself to the lovely house on Privet Drive.

* * *

Vernon Dursley awoke to hear a pounding on his door. He answered, and then glared at the young kids at his door. "Get lost, you blasted kids. I'm not interested in anything from you-"

Suddenly, a sharp pain went through his shoulder as someone gripped his arm tightly and twisted it. "It's been a long time, dear friend. I think I should remind you of who _I am." _

"Orihara-san!" The kids cried.

"Help me dispose of this trash, please," Izaya said cheerily as he pulled out a switchblade and slit his uncle's throat with no emotion, not even caring that the blood went on his face. The lifeless corpse fell to the ground. Izaya kicked him to the side and then smirked. "Well, one down..._two left to go." _

"Don't hurt Duddy-kins! I know you're the freak! Just leave us alone!" Petunia said, desperately.

"Freak, you say?" Izaya snarled, twirling his knife in his hand like a baton. "Hmm...I'll spare your lives...no, I'll spare your son."

"Thank god...thank you..." Petunia sobbed. She froze as her nephew stabbed her in the shoulder.

"...I didn't say I would _spare you,_ though, did I? I won't hold back, dear Aunt." Izaya laughed maniacally and brought the knife down on her as the last thing she knew was red.

"Clean this up, all of you. Leave the brat alone."

The kids agreed and cleaned all the blood up, and satisfied, Izaya vanished and returned to Ikebukuro. He felt deeply satisfied. "Wonderful..." He said, cleaning off his bloodstained knife and humming.

"So, what has you all happy this morning?" Namie snarked.

"Oh, nothing...I just disposed of someone I had to kill. Now everything's all right."

"Good, then you can get to work on my paperwork."

"What?" Izaya said, blinking in confusion upon seeing a stack of huge papers dumped in front of him.

"Orihara, it's about time you started plying your trade. If you're going to be a pompous ass and mistreat me and make me clean up your messes, you may as well start doing my work."

Damned woman. Izaya growled and got to work on the paperwork, finishing it in about an hour or two, and then resigning himself to playing with his chessboard and doing more research on the head.

"Professor Dumbledore," Ron said breathlessly. "The Dursleys are dead."

"What?" Dumbledore said. "Who-"

"Death Eaters," Ginny said, "They left a note."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:The next chapter is here. Harry's writing is in bold, while Izaya's writing is in bold with Italic. *This is a reference to MAD Magazine's parody of Harry Potter, Harry Plodder. Ron was called Runt and Hermione called Herwhiny, but I figured I'd use Herwhinny to make it my own. Don't own the names. **

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen Surprise visit**

"Well, that was certainly unpleasant," Orihara Izaya remarked as he entered his apartment in frustration. Not only had he spilled some of his old, untouched, _forbidden past _to Shizuo Heiwajima, the man he hated so much, the guy had actually felt bad for him. At this, Izaya felt nothing but self-loathing rise up in him. He disliked the idea of pity because he had never been shown pity.

Oh, he had been shown looks of pity all the time, back in that world, the looks and words like:

"Oh, you're an orphan! That's so terrible!"

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Harry!"

Izaya just grinned then as he plopped himself down on his couch, looking up at the head on his shelf. Never, never, never when he was at Hogwarts did he ever stop to think, that there would come a time when he was not only insane, but was also _free _to do whatever the hell he _wanted to do. _

Freedom, that had been all that Harry Potter had wanted during his life. His aunt and uncle had made him all those rules, and now they were sadly (Izaya thought sarcastically) deceased; but actually, he actually _thought of Harry Potter as dead. _Harry Potter had been an illusion, a falsehood conjured up by a sick world full of sick people who would control a child through any means necessary; and once he had learned of the betrayal, Harry Potter had died and Izaya Orihara took up residence in the corpse of his old self.

For a moment, Izaya paused, stopping to think about something. Then his long, slender hands rummaged through his drawers. There was one of his high school yearbooks with Shizu-chan and Shinra on the cover, information on Mikado-kun and Kida-kun, information on all the people he was currently toying with...and then at the very bottom, in a most secure place, were the remnants of his life as Harry Potter.

Izaya dug them back out, curious as to why he'd even bothered. There was a journal that he'd kept for his days after he'd arrived in Japan. "Ah, back from before I lost my mind," He remarked thoughtfully. "Oh, boy, I'm sure this will be _most~_ interesting~," He purred as he opened it to the first page with the first entry.

The first page was smeared with teardrops. Izaya rolled his eyes, and started to read.

* * *

**I can't believe it. Everyone I've ever loved has turned against me. Ron, Hermione, they've used me-they have been using me. There's nothing I can do. I'm all alone. But then, this voice in my head-this voice, in my head, told me it was okay to discard everything, and care only for myself. **

**As a matter of fact, I've always thought only of myself, but whenever I try doing things for myself, to please myself, everyone always snaps at me...Dumbledore, McGonagall, they all scolded me. Now they've all used me and lied to me. **

There was a mark where the pencil point had snapped-apparently he had acquired a Muggle utensil at one point.

**Well, if that's the case...then I won't be used anymore. I'll leave tomorrow. I'm writing my thoughts down here, but I'll make sure to take them with me, so that way no one ever discovers what made me leave. I'm sick of the looks of pity whenever I reveal that I'm Harry Potter. **

**'Harry James Potter, you're the child of Destiny, the Child of Prophecy.'**

**'I'm so sorry to hear about your parents, Harry, my boy, but you have a destiny to fulfill. You have to destroy the Dark Lord, Voldemort. You are the Golden Boy who lived, you can never do anything to damage Gryffindor's reputation. You have to play Quidditch whether or not you like it. **

_**W-Who gives a damn? Who honestly...ha HA HA...gives a damn about that stuff? A-All that matters in the end is myself, that and survival. The destiny that awaits me here is nothing but death and betrayal. If they think I'm going to sit here and take all of their crap, they're wrong. I'll leave. **_

"My, how melodramatic I was back then," Izaya remarked, before he realized that there were drops of blood on the next page. "My...I really _was _overemotional then, wasn't I?"

* * *

**I'm honestly doing it. I'm honestly surviving on my own. The Muggles...they're not as bad as people say they are. In fact, they're much more accepting of me than the Wizarding World ever was. I've left them all behind. All I have to do-it's possible-all I have to do is change my name and my whole identity of myself-and then I can escape and live my own life!**

**Who would have ever thought that this was possible? **

_**Another thing I've found so very interesting is, I like to sit and watch the Muggles. I just like to sit and watch them talk and as they argue. For some reason, their arguing really, really gets me excited. I love watching them argue! I love watching them all get angry! I've become more fond of Muggle horror films and violence. It's so joyful to watch! I love it-I love it all SO MUCH!**_

_**I just can't stop watching people. Even though they're so frustrating and they're so irritating, I just realized something: I hate the wizards so much, but I really, really love humanity. I love them all so much. They're all...so...INTERESTING! **_

"Hmm..." Izaya thought. There was nothing else written in the diary until a few weeks later.

_**Well, I've honestly managed to make my way into the Japanese yakuza. They're much better guys than I imagined them to be, after all. I mean, now that Harry Potter no longer exists, all I have to do is create my own destiny, and oh, these humans are ever so enjoyable to toy with. As much as I enjoy torturing and admiring humans...some might call me a sociopath, I'm sure.**_

_**Actually...I'm starting to realize that everything you've ever been told by adults is a load of nonsense. All you have to do is examine everything on your own in order to find your own answers to things. I know so much more than other people do, and I want to educate them about their stupidity, much like that stupid young woman who left her husband and now she has to support her own children! Honestly, she was begging me for mercy as she was tied up...and in the end, that led me to feel nothing but anger and irritation. **_

_**So, I made her shut up. A good blow to the head and she was out. I decided a few good cuts with a knife would make her think twice before being such a self-centered, annoying pain in the ass. But then if there's one thing I've never been, even as a sociopath, I have to say it here and now...that whenever everyone thinks of sociopaths, they think of cold-blooded killers. **_

_**Sure, I may be a criminal and a murderer; while I despise wizards, amazingly enough, I've never had the urge to harm an animal. In fact, I like cats. That's why I get tuna; so sometimes I can feed them. They're so adorable, and it's adorable to make them fight amongst themselves. But amazing as it is, it seems I still don't have those urges. **_

_**Why? Well, I assume it's because animals never do anything to betray others. Animals just accept you for who you are, like my dear owl Hedwig. She has never once misjudged me. Yeah, any of you who are reading the notes about Orihara Izaya the psychopath, you probably assume that I would take an animal and rip them up or cut them to pieces or whatever. Nope, even I'm not that brutal. I've seen some of my buddies gleefully torture animals, and it just makes me feel sick to my stomach. **_

_**Sure, I don't mind kidnapping a few people and toying with their minds. Toying with their minds is so much more fun, and what's the point of torturing an animal? It's not only stupid, it just sickens me to torture an animal, because they're not as despicable as humans are, and what's the point? They can't fight back, and besides, perhaps it's still the naive side of me that exists-but I still say that animals are innocent and mercy must be given to them. **_

_**Oh..? It looks like I just squished a spider. Oh, well. Spiders don't really deserve to live, either. **_

"My, my, I was pretty contradictory back then," Izaya remarked, before flipping the page to another entry.

_**~How entertaining. I received a few more letters from Runt and Herwhiny today!* I shall list the very amusing ones right here: **_

* * *

**Dear Harry, **

**You _must_ come back at once! The Wizarding World needs you! Dumbledore needs you! I swear, we'll apologize for everything we ever did wrong! Please, just come back! We'll explain everything, and besides, the Ministry has ordered your arrest! If you don't come back, they'll arrest you and MAKE you come back. You need to take part in the Triwizard Tournament. You have to take part in it, Harry! Someone's trying to kill all the people in the tournament! -Hermione Granger P.S. Don't run away. It's not the answer to your problems.**

_**And here we have this other very entertaining letter from the dunderheaded fool known as Runt Weasley: **_

* * *

**Hey, TRAITOR. You'd better get your ass back over here before they drag you back to Hogwarts. I swear, if you're living among the Muggles and acting like a filthy Muggle, then I have nothing but contempt for you. You wanna know who sent out the arrest warrant for you? It was ME, because I'm sick of seeing Ginny whining and moping over you. I'm tired of seeing my own sister suffer because the guy she likes turned his back on her and ran off. Call me whatever you like. Oh, I'm not sorry about hitting you over the head. What, did I turn you into a depraved lunatic who's so insane that he's locked up in a mental asylum somewhere? You're probably locked up in St. Mungo's, I imagine. Don't worry, I'll visit you...in order to give out your death certificate. And Dumbledore doesn't monitor these letters, so we're free to write out whatever the heck we want. Filthy Git. **

_**And then there's one by that great man, Albus Doubledork! Let's see what the annoying old coot has to say now!~ **_

* * *

_Harry, you must return at once. Your destiny lies with the Wizarding World. The Muggles are inferior. You must return at once, Harry, mah boi. Voldemort is out killing even more people than before. You must kill him! He's killing...why the other day, one of your friends, Colin Creevey, died. Harry, surely you must feel angry with us. But don't you understand we did it all for your own good? It was all for your own betterment! Sure, I had your best friends spy on you, but it was all for your own protection! You have to go back to your relatives, no matter how much you hate them, it's all for the destiny of the world. Don't even think about hiding, Harry. Because I CAN and I WILL find you. You can't hide anywhere. _

_**I've left all these letters here because they're so amusing. I've actually taken quite a liking to taking old pictures of Runt that I have and then setting them on fire. It's quite fun to watch them smolder. You know what would be ever so amusing? IF I met someone who was just as twisted as I am, wouldn't it be nice if I could ask them to set Runt on fire and they would do it with a smile on their face? Or wouldn't it be interesting if they could take a pen and shove it right through Runt's hand? That would be so funny~. I love you humans all so much...but not the wizards! I hate them!**_

"Here's one of the last entries," He remarked, frowning and using his slender nails in order to slash out any references to Ron and Hermione. "Note to self: I'm probably going to burn this once I'm through with it. I don't want anyone else to find me."

_**Well, I've started high school, and it seems I've run into the delightful person named Shizu-chan! But Shizu-chan doesn't like it when I call him that name! So he decided to beat me up. He's so fun to provoke! He's such a monster; I'm sure he's hurt others. But he's much smarter than Runt could ever dream of being. I love you humans all SO much! -Izaya Orihara, the number one lover of humanity. **_

"Oh, pooey," Izaya remarked, looking at his fingers. He realized he had acquired a papercut, and was now bleeding. "Oh, boy...not only am I bleeding, it's also raining outside. How delightful!" He said in a sing-song voice as he instantly went to rinse his finger off.

"Hello, Namie-chan!" He chirped.

"You're just as cheerful as usual, despite the fact that you made me walk here all the way in the rain."

"How's good old Seiji-kun doing?" Izaya taunted.

"He's doing just _fine, _though I'd rather kill that girl he's with-"

"Too bad! I mean, it seems like he's very protective of her!"

"What happened to you?" She said sarcastically.

"A little papercut. That's all."

"Don't you feel any pain?"

"Oh, I do. But actually I sort of enjoy it."

"Really? You going to tell me next that you slit your wrists?" Namie snarked.

"Nope! What would be the point of that? Even though I like watching others die, I want to live!"

"Hey, maybe this is a sign."

"A sign of wh~atttt?" He said, gleefully annoying her.

"Maybe it's just a sign from someone telling you."

"You mean like God or something? Don't use such exotic terms, Namie-chan. There's no such thing as God, after all!" He chirped.

"You are _utterly _infuriating." She spat.

"And I'm proud of it!" He cried.

Her eyes widened then as Shizuo came in.

"FLEA!"

"What are you doing here, Shizu-chan? Came to see me? Did you utterly miss being around me that much?" Izaya purred.

"Hey, flea, where were you? I showed up, waiting for you to come and fight me once more and yet you skipped out."

"Hmmm? What should I say? It surprises me that you'd come this far to see _me, _Shizu-chan! Do you perhaps feel bad for me?"

"No, you annoying pain in the ass! All I want is for you to stop being such a jerk!"

"Ah, that can't be helped, Shizu-chan! I'm always going to be the way I am."

"That's unfortunate," Namie remarked, "Here I was thinking you of all people could beat some common sense into him, Heiwajima."

"What's the bandage for, flea?" Shizuo said in exasperation.

"I cut myself," Izaya said nonchalantly. "What? Did you expect me to cry or something? It's just a little cut."

"That cut looks pretty bad," Shizuo remarked, itching to beat the flea up.

"Shizu-chan, don't you think the injuries you give me are just as bad? It's not like you're worried about me, is it?"

"NO, YOU BASTARD! I JUST WANT YOU TO COME AND FIGHT ME LIKE USUAL!"

"Oh, sure. Oh, and it looks like you got your hair all wet in the rain. Gonna catch a cold, Shizu-chan?"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

"I can call you whatever I want to, Shizu-chan!" Izaya said cheerfully.

"If you're gonna fight him, Orihara, get outside," Namie said in irritation.

"Oh, Namie-chan, you can leave if you want."

"You're being polite to me now, Izaya? This is the end of the world-"

"No, it's not. I just feel like being nice to you for now! Goodbye!" He said before waving his fingers at her. "So, Shizu-chan, what'd you come and see me about? I mean, what was the point of it?"

"YOU BASTARD!" Shizuo cried. "Who are those two redheaded guys?"

"Hm, I don't know what you're talking about, Shizu-chan!" Izaya said as he did his nails.

"You damned flea, stop ignoring me!"

"I can do whatever I want, Shizu-chan. You're not my boss!"

"Sure that bleeding isn't painful?" Shizuo said finally, after a long moment of silence had passed between them.

"Hm, what's this? Shizu-chan is worried about me, and on top of that, it's adorable!"

"Shut up! Anyway, I...Izaya-er, flea, the main reason I came here is because I encountered a _problem _running down in Ikebukuro. These two annoying visitors won't leave me alone!"

"Two annoying visitors, hm?" Izaya said. 'Is it Fred and George?'

"What I mean is, these two annoying pains in the asses have been following me, and they won't shut up."

"Hm, is it Erika and Walker? If it is, you can have them torture someone."

"No, it's-"

Suddenly a black blur tackled Shizuo to the ground.

* * *

"It's Shizuo Heiwajima!" A very familiar high voice that Izaya knew too well chirped. "Where's Yuuhei-kun? We wanna see him!"

"Yeah, we wanna see Yuuhei!" A tinnier voice said.

"Oh, no," Izaya remarked under his breath.

"Flea, who are these two?" Shizuo groaned.

"Mairu, Kururi, stop that." Izaya said nonchalantly.

"IZA-NII!" They both cried, launching themselves onto a terrified Izaya. Both of them tackled Izaya to the ground.

"We've missed you, Iza-nii! Where've you been?"

"Iza-nii, busy..." Came the quiet and controlled voice of one Kururi Orihara.

"Get off of me..." He moaned.

"Iza-nii...would you mind if we pushed you in front of a truck?" Mairu said happily.

"_What?" _Izaya said, completely and utterly baffled.

"We asked Shizuo if we could push you in front of a truck and then maybe Yuhei-san would come see us!"

Shizuo was positively grinning by now. Izaya rolled his eyes. "No, you can't kill me. That's Shizu-chan's job."

"So they're your sisters?" Shizuo remarked.

"Yep."

"Not by blood!" Mairu said. "Iza-nii wasn't always our big brother, but now he is!"

"Adopted? You were adopted, flea?" Shizuo said.

"Yeah, more or less," Izaya said dismissively. "Now please get off of me."

"No, we wanna go throw you in front of a truck, or else it won't be fun!"

"Get off me, Mairu," Izaya said in annoyance.

"If Iza-nii wants to be a really nice big brother, he'll let us do what we want! We came to cheer you up because we heard you were feeling down." Mairu said talkatively.

"So your idea of cheering me up is to run me over with a truck?" Izaya said dryly.

"Yep!" They said happily.

"It's hard to believe they're not blood-related to you. They're every bit as twisted as you are!"

"We like being twisted, because normalcy is for losers!" Mairu said.

"Iza-nii...okay?" Kururi asked.

"I'm fine."

Kururi had already gotten off of him, it was Mairu who was suffocating him.

"Why don't we throw you out of a window, Iza-nii?"

"Because then it wouldn't be funny," Izaya said, something that surprised Shizuo.

"We'd love seeing your blood splattered-"

"ENOUGH! FLEA, THIS IS REALLY FREAKING ANNOYING. I'M LEAVING."

"Wait, Shizuo-san, we need to see Yuuhei!"

"My brother doesn't want to see anyone connected to Izaya, even his sisters!" He cried.

"Ah, Shizu-chan, aren't you too in love with me to do anything else?" Izaya chirped.

"Shut up, flea! I would punch you in the face if your stupid siblings weren't here."

"It'd be funny to see him get punched in the face, though," Mairu admitted.

Izaya looked completely annoyed at this point.

"Thanks for the owl you gave us! We're taking good care of it!" Mairu chirped.

"That's good to know," Izaya said.

"The main reason we're here is one thing-"

"Besides tormenting the flea and me?" Shizuo said.

"Ah, tormenting Shizu-chan is great fun. Why don't we torment Shizu-chan instead, Mairu, Kururi?"

"YAY!" They both cried, and instantly they turned to face a confused and shocked Shizuo.

"Flea, I'm not in the mood for this!"

"Well, you said you wanted to chase someone, so why don't you chase all three of us?"

"Yay, this'll be great, Iza-nii!" Mairu said.

"I don't fight girls!"

"That's not fair. You have to fight us!" Mairu said, and instantly she and Kururi took off after Shizuo.

Izaya just stood there and laughed.

"FLEA, DON'T BE SUCH A COWARD. DON'T STICK YOUR SISTERS ON ME, COME DO IT YOURSELF."

"All right, Shizu-chan." Izaya said before whipping out his knife and following after them. "This should be quite fun!"

"Hey, Mikado, hasn't it been awfully quiet in Ikebukuro lately?" Masaomi said.

"Yeah, I haven't seen either Izaya or Shizuo around," Mikado admitted.

"That bastard's been acting weird lately. He's been acting like he has a heart, which is hard to believe."

At that instant, suddenly they saw a panicked Shizuo running from two little girls with dark hair who were chanting excitedly and throwing things at him.

"Little girls are chasing after Shizuo-san now?" Mikado said in disbelief.

"Take that! This is what you get for not letting us see Yuuhei-san!"

"Stop it already! Stop! I don't throw things at little girls!"

"That's not fair. You throw things at Iza-nii all the time!"

"Flea, stop sticking your sisters on me!"

"But it's great fun, Shizu-chan!" A very familiar voice chirped. It was one Orihara Izaya, and it looked like he was very much enjoying himself.

"Orihara-san has sisters?" Mikado said to Masaomi, who looked just as shocked.

"I'm surprised, too, and it looks like they definitely take after him in the psycho department."

"Hi there, Kida-kun!" Izaya chirped.

"Go to hell," Masaomi spat.

"That's not very nice!"

"Yeah, you should treat Iza-nii better!" Mairu said.

"Ah, Mairu, weren't you just talking about throwing me in front of a truck?"

"Yeah, but it's called Comedic Sociopathy! We read about it on a website!"

"That'd be Disproportionate Retribution, wouldn't it?" Izaya said to himself.

"We like to beat up on Shizu-chan!" Mairu said.

"Shizu-chan...fun to torment." Kururi said.

"Don't teach them to say that, flea!" Shizuo cried.

"Ah, Shizu-chan, you're getting bored already, aren't you? Hi, Ryuugamine-kun."

"Hi, Orihara-san," Mikado said, looking very much like he wanted to vanish off the face of the earth.

"Are these friends of yours, Iza-nii?" Mairu said.

"Sure, go ahead. I'll fight with Shizu-chan. You go entertain them."

Instantly, Mairu came towards a terrified Mikado.

"Wow, you're really cute! What's your name?"

"M-M-Mikado Ryuugamine?" Mikado whimpered.

"Ryuugamine, that's such an awesome name! If only Iza-nii had such a badass name! Why don't we call you Emperor?! That's what your name means!"

"N-No, you don't have to," Mikado whined.

"Ah, ladies, I appreciate the fact that you're here, but why don't you go out with me, the great Masaomi Kida?"

"You're too young for us. We like someone like Yuuhei-san."

"The idol?" Mikado said.

"Yes, that's the main reason we came here. We wanted to throw Iza-nii in front of a truck! Shizu-chan told us to do that!" Kururi said.

"But he's still your brother," Mikado said in complete disbelief.

"We both love and hate our brother," Mairu said.

"Mairu...wrong thing to say..." Kururi said.

"I'm Anri. You're Orihara-san's sisters?" Anri said.

"Yep! Hey, you're cute!" Mairu said.

"It looks like life in Ikebukuro is back to normal!" Mikado whimpered upon seeing the sisters attacking a terrified Izaya.

"Mairu, Kururi, get off!"

"It is really funny to watch Izaya get tormented." Kida said.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:Time for the next chapter! I love all the reviews I've been getting.**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen Izaya's new game**

Izaya couldn't stand it. Here he was, walking hand in hand with his two annoying little sisters, Mairu and Kururi, and yet Shizu-chan was still following him and he hadn't stopped. "Shizu-chan, I get the feeling you like seeing me in pain here," Izaya moaned.

His sisters were pulling on either side of him and laughing as they did so.

Mikado, Kida, and Anri had gone their separate ways, but not before Izaya had noticed how much Kida had laughed his ass off at seeing his mortal enemy being humiliated. "Oh, yes, Shizu-chan, this is quite fun," Izaya deadpanned.

"You're not having fun, Iza-nii?" Kururi said, letting go of his left arm and shifting positions to walk right beside him, "Why not?"

"Because...you're hurting me," Izaya moaned.

"Wow, Onii-chan, it's not like you have anywhere else to be, right?" Mairu said.

"Not in particular," Izaya said. An idea crossed Izaya's mind then as he whipped open his phone with his free hand. He smirked and sent out a message.

**~Hello there, little 'Mione. I'm sure you know exactly **_**who this is! **_**You know, I never said we'd finished our little game. I originally contacted you so I could use you as a pawn, and you've had so many amusing reactions! If you want, you can visit me. Just look for me whenever I chase Shizu-chan down the street~ It'll be quite entertaining. **

**-Signed, Izaya**

He smirked. "I wonder if she'll send a reply back," He muttered.

"Who are you messaging, flea?" Shizuo demanded.

"Nobody in particular, Shizu-chan. Just another interesting pawn for my game," Izaya purred.

"Yay! You're using a pawn! Manipulating more people? We do it all the time at our school!" Mairu chirped.

"Oh boy, flea, you're teaching them to be just as manipulative as you, aren't you?"

"Yup," Izaya said, "I mean, what would you expect when they have _me _as a big brother?"

"Oh, god," Shizuo remarked, "You Oriharas...you're all insane!"

"Yup, but the entire world is insane, Shizu-chan. Sometimes you become insane as a defense mechanism in order to survive, get what I'm saying?"

"I don't get what you're saying-"

"Of course. I didn't expect your tiny little brain to understand it, Shizu-chan," Izaya taunted. He smirked as his phone vibrated again. 'Hmm...it looks like I did get a reply back from my pawn.'

He flipped it open and he just smirked broadly.

"What does it say, Iza-nii?" Mairu asked eagerly.

"Something private," Izaya remarked.

"Flea, what are you doing?"

"Nothing in particular. It's something private-" He sneered as he read over what he saw.

_I have NO need to talk to you. You're the monster that's replaced my best friend. I want nothing to do with someone as cruel and sadistic as you. _

**That really hurts...that really hurts, 'Mione. I mean, considering...I know I can trust you to not tell anyone, but really you have only yourself to blame for making me into who I am today. But I haven't felt this happy in ages. Still, if you ever want to show up, you can meet me in my office. Just disguise yourself. It's just you'd have to do it by yourself, without any of those annoying pains from that world accompanying you, got it? In other words, you come as a Muggle and you treat me as Orihara Izaya. That's all there is to it. But I really don't feel like inviting you right now, so enjoy your vacation with the Weasley twins. They always have been very surrealistic, which is why they fit in perfectly in Japan. See you later, 'Mione-chan.**

'I'm just using you as a pawn. I can never trust 'Mione. I can never trust any of those magical people ever again,' Izaya thought darkly. 'I can trust Fred and George, but even then that only goes so far. No, there's a man I've got to do business with soon, and that man is...'

"Flea, what are you scheming? I know that look on your face."

* * *

"Nothing at all, Shizu-chan. I mean...it wasn't like I was planning anything evil. Oh, sorry about that," He said as he bumped into someone and then his eyes widened as he realized _Hermione _was standing in front of him with a very surprised look on her face.

"Who's this, Onii-chan? She doesn't look very Japanese." Mairu said, coming on either side of Izaya.

"_Hello there, I assume you're not from around these parts," _

"Flea, if you're gonna do some more of your swindling, I'm in no mood to hear it."

"What did you say?" Hermione said, not having understood a word of Harry's rapid-fire switching from Japanese to English.

He turned back to study her with a polite, almost amused smirk on his face. "_I'm sorry...but I'm on vacation with my little sisters, and Shizu-chan doesn't understand a word of English, so I can't speak English to you. Sorry." _

_"Wait, Har-" _She cried out before grabbing Izaya's shirt sleeve. The thing that incited Shizuo's rage was whenever Izaya smacked her hand away and whipped out his switch blade and slashed her coat, leaving a little gash in her arm which started to bleed. She stared at him in disbelief.

He just looked at her and then smirked. "_Go, run away...useless girl." _

He looked at a furious Shizuo. "...What? You angry, Shizu-chan?"

"You attacked a woman before my eyes, you coward!" Shizuo cried, enraged.

"Okay then, Shizu-chan, let's start another game...HA HA! SEE YOU LATER!" He said as he started to run and winked at his sisters. He looked at Hermione and waved.

"_See you later, Her-My-Oh-Knee. HA HA HA HA HA HA!" _He cried as he ran off, cackling at the top of his lungs, as a crazed Shizuo followed, beet-red as he threw a vending machine at Izaya.

"Punk, you don't just hurt a woman like that!"

"She was interfering with our game, Shizu-chan, that's the only reason I did it. What, you angry, Shizu-channnnn?"

"Hell no, flea. Actually I'm glad. You did that just so the two of us could lose your little sisters so we could have our own game, right?"

"Yep. But I plan on using some of my other pawns. I have this other game I'm playing, see, and I have no intention of losing."

"Flea?" Shizuo asked.

"Y-Yes, Shizu-chan, what is it?" Izaya purred.

"How many people do you use in your games?"

"Well...all of them. I love all of humanity so much!" Izaya chirped.

"Who was that girl? That's the same girl I saw before."

"Just an old acquaintance of mine, Shizu-chan. No one really important."

"You hurt a woman, though. Isn't that cowardly?"

"Heh heh...it's only payback," Izaya cackled.

"You really are sick," Shizuo sniffed.

"There are some people who are more sick than I am, Shizu-chan." Izaya said, twirling his knife around. "My, I'd better clean this off now, shouldn't I, before the blood gets all over it?"

"You are so messed up-"

"I take that as a compliment, Shizu-chan. I'm not an average, boring human being like the rest of you."

"Some days I wish I understood what goes on in your mind, and then I think that I don't want to, I just want to see you crushed to death!"

"Wow, Shizu-chan, you're bipolar. Have you been taking your medication?"

"Yeah, it's called crushing you underneath a refrigerator, flea!"

"This is what I was talking about, Shizu-chan; see, I've missed these games of ours. I've been busy with other stuff, but I'm so glad I returned back to it."

"Iza-nii! Go, Iza-nii, go get Shizu-chan!" Mairu chirped.

"Oh, crud," Izaya whispered.

Hermione gasped as she touched her bleeding arm. "I can't believe Harry did that to me," She whispered.

'I honestly can't believe he would hurt me. Is that really what he's become? He's become so psychotic...I know I told Ron that if I found Harry again, I would never betray him, but he's already betrayed all of us. He's turned his back on the Wizarding World, he's turned his back on our friendship, and on me. Should...I? No, I won't tell Dumbledore. They won't believe me.'

As Kida walked back home, he and Mikado stopped. Mikado was still looking at him with that expectant look on his face.

"Kida...what do you think of my story?" He said, in that cold tone Masaomi was not used to hearing from his best friend.

* * *

"Mikado...I still can't believe it..."

_Kida turned to stare at the young man in front of him. This young man was wearing the same clothes his friend had worn; he had the same spiky black hair and the same height, but...at the same time this young man was a complete stranger to Masaomi Kida. _

_The Ryugamine Mikado he knew was shy, quiet, withdrawn, happy-go-lucky, and he was also a kind and cheerful boy. The person standing before him was __**not **__Mikado Ryugamine. _

_It couldn't be his best friend, for even though the hair and the face were the same, the air around him that should be warm and welcoming was instead cold and distant, not unlike that of Izaya Orihara. There was a blank look on his face; a cold, calculating smile, one that resembled Izaya's. It was a vacant one, too. _

_The worst part of all, though were those goddamned blue eyes. Those blue eyes of Mikado's Masaomi loved the most; these eyes did not possess the light of innocence, these eyes were cold and unfeeling, it looked as though the owner of these eyes held contempt for almost everything in this world. _

_"Kida," The same, cold hard tone that Kida had only heard just now; the stranger said, "You can stay here if you like. I won't force you to stay. I mean, this is the first time I've shown my true self in front of you. You're bound to be...scared." He remarked darkly, staring at him with a faint smirk on his face._

_"Mi...ka..do?" Masaomi whispered, just staring at the cold boy in front of him, who merely nodded his head. _

_"Yes, Kida. What is it that you want of me? Come on and sit down now. I shall tell you about myself...my true self," He said. _

_"W-What do you mean your true self? This all has to be some sick joke, right, Mikado? Mikado! Mikado, come on, this joke is not funny! You and Izaya set up some complex joke about you being the leader of the Dollars, right? Come on, Mikado, drop the act, drop the cold look. Start smiling, start laughing, that's-"_

_But Mikado silenced him with a frosty look. "Kida...this is no act. What you saw before you, the shyness, the innocence, the laughter...that is all an illusion. I put up that forefront as a protective guard, against people like Izaya...of course, Izaya saw right through my act from the start. You, however...I'm afraid to say, Kida, that you are not as perceptive as he. No, I would never lie about making the Dollars. They belong to me, after all." _

_Masaomi reluctantly sat down, not sure whether he should sit close to this stranger. "Who __are __you?" _

_"I'm your friend, Mikado."_

_"No, you're not!" _

_"Yes, I am. I'm the true side of Mikado Ryuugamine. This is just a side of me that I hide. Did you honestly believe my naivete was for real? It was all just an act, that's all. How should I put it...? It all started when I was bored back in my hometown. I had absolutely nothing to do with my life." Mikado said absently, "So some friends and I decided to create an online gang that didn't really exist. We would spread rumors about it, but...eventually, some people actually fell for it, so we created a website for the Dollars. At first, we treated it as a joke. But eventually...more people started joining for no reason. The other creators were all too scared so they fled, leaving only me to control __**my Dollars." **_

_Something about the way he said my sent chills down Masaomi's spine. _

_"And as it turns out...Izaya...he was the one spreading information. He spread the password to all the others. I should have known that the second I set eyes on him. Then I got that invitation from you to come to Ikebukuro, and I'd heard all about how the Dollars were getting big in Ikebukuro. I figured it'd be the perfect opportunity to check up on __**my Dollars **__and see how they were doing." _

_"__**Your...Dollars?" **_

_"Yes, Masaomi. I mean, you were the leader of the Yellow Scarves, weren't you? Izaya told me." Mikado said cheerfully, smiling icily._

_"So...you...lied to me, Mikado?" _

_"Yes," Mikado said frostily. _

_"Why would you lie to me? I didn't want you to wind up like me, lost in the darkness. Why would you-"_

_"Kida," Mikado said coldly, "The Dollars are mine. I know full well what I'm doing. You see, it's just too boring leading an ordinary life. I bear no grudge against you, Kida. None at all. That's why I was waiting to see whether I could trust in you. Whenever you told me the Dollars were a crazy gang, I had to disagree with that notion. And then you got mad at me for asking around about my gang. Of course, the leader has to ask about his members' whereabouts, or his pawns' welfare."_

_"That's why you asked. Why wouldn't you come out and tell me-"_

_"Come now, Kida, would it really be so wise for someone as young as to me to admit to being the leader of the Dollars? Regardless of how intelligent I am, I'm still just a teenage boy."_

_"Mikado...?" _

_"Yes?"_

_"Have you ever...killed anyone?"_

_"I've thought about killing Izaya, but I have not, because I've concluded that he's a lot like me."_

_"A lot...like you?" Masaomi repeated. "You idiot!" He cried before shaking Mikado. "Don't you have any sense? Mikado, you've lost your mind."_

_"I've never lost my mind, Kida. I've just opened my mind. I hope that you won't stand in my way, because we are truly friends. I would hate to hurt you." Mikado smiled a genuine one, much like the Mikado he knew. "That's my story, Kida-kun!" He said, returning to the same Mikado he had been once before. _

_"You won't tell anyone, right?" He whimpered. The innocent look in those blue eyes was back once more, but even still, Masaomi could have sworn he saw those cold blue eyes staring down at him with barely disguised contempt. Had he always stared at people with those eyes? _

_"I won't...tell anyone," Masaomi said. _

_"That's good!" Mikado said cheerily, "And of course, I'll never tell anyone about you being the leader of the Yellow Scarves, Kida!" He chirped with a serene smile on his face._

Even being beside his best friend right now was terrifying. He couldn't stress how disappointed he was with himself and with Mikado. The Mikado he'd encountered that day had been the true side of his best friend. Well, wasn't it ironic? He'd told his best friend to stay away from Izaya and in the end, his best friend was every bit as cold and distant as Izaya himself, not to mention manipulative.

Perhaps Izaya saw someone as monstrous as he was in Mikado, and thus it was the reason why he stalked the boy so much. "Izaya knows, Mikado," Masaomi said, confusing Anri.

"Yes, he knows," Mikado said before smiling.

"Um, Ryuugamine-kun, is there something going on?" Anri said.

"Nothing that involves you, Sonohara-san!" Mikado said cheerily. "It's just between me and Kida-kun."

'_How long _has he been doing this little charade? How long has he been pretending to be so innocent? My god...there's a monster lurking inside my best friend, and I can't stop him,' He thought.

Just like with Saki, once again he was powerless to stop those he loved from falling into the darkness...and it was all because of ORIHARA IZAYA. He was using his friends again.

* * *

Izaya Orihara smirked as he sat in his apartment. His eyes widened then as he received a new visitor, one he'd been expecting to see. "Ah," He said before folding his arms together and looking at his intruder, "I knew you'd come here, 'Mione. And you came disguised as well. Good job," He said as he put down his phone and looked at her.

"Why did you call me here? What do you want from me, Har-"

"I'd advise you not to use that name anymore."

"Fine, Nakura-san, Orihara, whatever the hell you want to go by, tell me why you forced yourself into my life again!"

Izaya chuckled. "_You have the same vindictive spirit as always_," He said in Japanese.

"What?"

"I said you have the same vindictive spirit. One that I remember, let's not forget that you and that idiot were the ones who betrayed me, so why should I show any mercy to you? And how's that wound?"

_"_I...bandaged it," She whispered.

"Good, good. Now, just to make it clear...we're not 100% enemies. But I can't trust you one hundred percent and you can't trust me one hundred percent, either. That's the way it goes, and that's the way it should have gone the very first day we met."

"What do you want?" She whined.

"Please...don't cry. Nothing irritates me more than when a woman cries," He said, "Once I even stabbed a woman when she cried because I wanted her to shut up."

"What a monster you are!" She moaned.

"My name is Izaya Orihara, and I'm not a monster. It's your world that is-"

"It's your world, too."

"Nope, not my world. Not anymore. So you hate him, right? Tell me now...how many times has that pathetic husband of yours beaten you up? I ask not because I am concerned about you, but because I am curious as to whether you want to get rid of him." Izaya said.

Hermione's eyes widened. "No, I would never want you to kill him."

"Let's see...he gave you a black eye earlier this week, he twisted your arm...and my, my, it seems like you have a broken rib. He really has been active on you, hasn't he? So, whenever I slashed your arm, I was merely testing your wound, and it seems to me that it hurts as much as I expected it to." He chuckled before grabbing her arm.

"Don't do that!"

"Oh, good...your arm will heal...as strong as ever," He chirped as he drank some tea.

"You really have changed," She said.

"Have I now? Hm, it's amazing; the wonders that can happen when you're freed from being under control. Don't you want to live a normal life, free from all of that nonsense?" He got up and started to walk around.

"Imagine... if you were in my situation...a young child being beaten up on for reasons he did not understand, alone and neglected, without any friends. And then...once that happened, no matter what he did, he was always called a liar, always beaten up, always treated as though he was nothing. Can you imagine how that child would feel? Resentful, angry, and even...vengeful. Sometimes the child had murderous urges..and then a person shows up from this magical world and tells you that there's this magical destiny laid out before your eyes, but in the end it was all a lie, along with everything else in my life. My name was a lie, so I changed my name to a name that would reflect who I really am."

"As the psychopath you are now..."

"I have obtained true freedom, 'Mione. That's all there is to it." He said before picking up a pawn and moving it across his board, "Of course you are the perfect pawn in my game."

"You just see it all as a game?"

"Maybe, I mean, since you are a human, I love you. I love all humans, but I can't stand the wizards. I couldn't give a damn if they died. That's just how I am. But anyway, I came to you because you see, there's someone I've been looking forward to seeing...a person I still retain affection for, even as Orihara Izaya."

"I don't want to do anything for you," She snapped.

"Hmm...put it this way...either you do my little favor or else, I may have no choice but to kill your husband. What will your choice be?"

"I'll...very well..."

"Excellent," Izaya said before smirking, "Now, the person I'd like to see is the one called Padfoot. I'm certain he's still in hiding, isn't he? There's no danger associated with seeing him."

"What do you want with him?" Hermione cried. The smirk that was on Izaya's face was almost that of her old friend.

"Why...I wish to reconnect with him."

"Harry?" She said in disbelief. Then it was gone and Izaya returned.

"Right...some ties should be kept, after all. Now, that marks the end of our business, so you can leave now."

"_Excuse me?_ You can't just dismiss me like that-"

"Hm, well...you're of no more use to me right now, so honestly 'Mione, you can go away."

"Is this really what you wanted to do with your life? Manipulate and use everyone?"

"Not really manipulate...I'm helping them out with my knowledge."

"That blond guy...is he a replacement for...?" She began.

"Yes, he's sort of a replacement for Malfoy-kun. Well, 'Mione-chan, that's all. Go now, and use the ordinary doors~, _please. No magic at all." Izaya purred.  
_

_"_Do you want to completely sever your ties to magic?" She said.

"Yep, and of course~ not a word of this~ to anyone else." Izaya said.

Hermione was inwardly conflicted as she left the building. On the one hand, she was relieved that her best friend was trusting in her...the fact that one part of him still wanted to see his godfather meant that some part of him still longed for the Wizarding World. Maybe she could get the Harry Potter she knew back and get rid of Orihara Izaya...

On the other hand, the way he had just ordered her around and had just looked at her...with such cold eyes...she knew he would never return. She was lucky that she was in disguise.

"It looks like Harry's dead..."

A new text came up. It was from Izaya.

**No need to cry. Crying solves nothing. I'll let you know when I want to talk to you again. See you later, 'Mione. -Signed, Nakura-san. **

She put the phone away, allowing the silent tears to stream down her face.

* * *

Izaya watched from above with his binoculars, smirking to himself. "Excellent. She's fallen for it, hook, line and sinker."

A part of him was glad to see her again...but he could never trust in anyone from that world again. He would not be fooled.

Sirius had not been expecting a very familiar white owl to come flying in through the window of the hideout he was in and drop a small object in his hands. There was a letter attached.

Hello there, Sirius Black. I have good news for you. Your nephew is yet alive. You will meet him soon. I will lead him to you. Until now, all you have to do is follow my lead. Signed, a friend. P.S. This is a muggle device known as a cell phone. You can meet him out in the Muggle world only.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:I'm freaking pissed right now as I type this, just like the first time I typed this story up in a heat of anger on Deviantart after the hypocrites (the ones I mentioned in the beginning of this author's note on chapter 1) on there totally mistreated me. I don't know what you guys do when you're angry, but when I'm pissed, I play rock music and metal music and start typing up a lot. **

**"Humans, what a despicable, arrogant bunch of lowlifes."-Izaya, in my fanfiction Oz in Ikebukuro-land**

**Chapter Eighteen The melancholy of Izaya Orihara**

* * *

Izaya Orihara could only cackle as he watched his game unfold. Hermione was indeed the perfect pawn, all he had to do was whisper the right insults at the right time and she would immediately fall under his control. It felt so goddamned right ruling over-well, not really, more like observing and guiding the humans into doing what he thought was right. Perhaps he had become more like Dumbledore than he thought himself to be.

Perhaps he, too, was now the impassive man manipulating his pawns, and using them as he saw fit, and then telling them how to act, and how to feel. 'No,' Izaya thought darkly as he picked up another chess piece and glanced at it, 'I know my feelings. I've just chosen to embrace the darkness within.'

Memories filtered right through his mind then, of the numerous times he'd been betrayed and lied to, but he remembered the worst: the one where Dumbledore and Snape had been discussing his 'home' without realizing he was standing right there, listening.

_"Potter is such an egotistical brat. I'm sure he's spoiled rotten at home, Albus. Why must we send him to live with Muggles, anyway?" Severus said darkly. Harry frowned. He knew the man hated him, but to think he hated him this much...Dumbledore would defend him._

_Which is why he was startled when Dumbledore laughed a cold laugh and said, "Do not worry. The aunt and uncle absolutely hate the boy, and Harry is treated like a prisoner. It's just as we planned, Severus. We put him there because we don't want him getting too full of himself, and I've told Pomfrey to ignore the bruises on his body and have convinced her that they're from Quidditch injuries. I've heard Mr. Potter has complained about his family before to Minerva. How did you deal with that, Severus?"_

_The man bristled. "I told her it wasn't her place to pry and that Potter was making stuff up, just like he usually does. I mean, who would believe a brat like that after all the trouble he's caused?" _

_"...Indeed."_

_"Aren't you being a little too hard on the boy, Albus? Doesn't he have to stay there because of the blood wards-"_

_"The blood wards are not real, Severus. You and I both know that such magic does not exist. It was just a little story I told Harry to make him believe he had to go back there. Potter is easily manipulated by words alone; I don't need to use potions on him to keep him compliant, the boy already follows my every command without question. It's so interesting, watching him come back, suffering and beaten. I like watching him suffer. Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley have been telling me how much he's been whining like a little puppy about his problems. So, soon, next year...I should start telling him he has to die."_

_'Die? Why? Why would he have me die?' Harry thought in puzzlement._

_"Tell no one what you heard us say. Besides, it's not like the boy's bright enough to put two and two together, anyway. As long as you and I keep spreading the rumors around about Harry, none of his classmates will want to be his friends."_

_'__**Isn't it obvious, Harry Potter? He's just a disgusting existence who's using you. If I were you, I'd kill him. Kill him in order to survive.' **_

_Harry backed away and scurried off, whipping out a pocket knife that he had snagged from Dudley and hurrying away, only to bump into one of his classmates, who tripped him as he fell right over. _

_"Look at clumsy little Potty," Ron sneered, looking at his best friend with a mixture of amusement and satisfaction. _

_"Ron, why would you...?" Harry began, but Ron shushed him and led him into a room. _

_"No one can know about this." Ron said, as he raised his wand. "Crucio!" _

_Every limb of Harry's went on fire as he was knocked to the floor and tortured by Ron and Dean Thomas, who were both laughing. He could feel the anger in him boiling, to the surface...until he stopped. He wiped the blood off of his face, and chuckled darkly. _

_"...Are you done yet with bullying me, Ronald? That was a pretty stupid way to bully someone." He said coldly, startling Ron. His grip tightened on the knife as he came towards Ron. _

_Ron gasped and tackled Harry to the ground and before his eyes he broke the knife in two. Then Harry was beaten unconscious by Severus when he found the two of them there, fighting. Severus had immediately beaten him without listening to Harry's story first._

_Harry could do nothing but cry hysterically, but at the same time, something inside him on that day snapped. He felt hollow from that day on, like something had been torn out from inside him. _

'Right, well, enough musing over the past,' Izaya thought, watching the sun set over the horizon. It had been more than thirty minutes since Mione had left, so there was no need for his people watching right now. Sighing, he stuck his hands in his pockets and realized he was hungry. "I think I'll go see Simon and get myself some tuna from over there. That'll calm me down," He whispered to himself as he fetched his trusty jacket and slipped it on over himself while whistling.

* * *

The sky was now periwinkle as the sun slipped beneath the world, being consumed by the darkness. Izaya shrugged and walked down the street, tucking his hood on over himself so in case Hermione showed up again, he wouldn't be recognized by her.

He couldn't see any of the Wizarding people around...wait, there was a magical person standing guard there and talking to the Weasley twins, who were attempting to persuade them to buy their goods. The person didn't look very convinced, however.

Fred and George caught sight of a figure wearing a familiar black hood on over his features skulking away from their field of vision and immediately tried to call his name, but he ignored them and walked on.

"Was that-" They began.

"Who were you looking at?" The guard asked.

"No one in particular. We thought we saw a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

"Really?" The guard said in disinterest.

"They do exist, you know," Fred said, "They're multicolored so they can make themselves seem very invisible to anyone who notices them."

"...What's with the Muggles here? They're nuts," The guard said, "Why, I saw some Muggle complaining about his inability to attract girls and he started hitting on his friend's girlfriend. Then I saw some person in a black bike riding around."

As he walked down the street, he ignored Togusa and Kadota as they tried to catch his attention. He wanted to _not _draw attention to himself tonight, but apparently...luck was not on his side tonight. He turned the corner to go to Russia Sushi, spotting Mika and Seiji walking away from him on his right, a nervous Mikado on a date with Anri on his left...and he sighed as he kept on walking and put his hood down...

He immediately heard something heavy being thrown in his direction. 'Oh, no...'

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYAAAAAAAAA!"

Izaya decided now would be the best time to head into Russia Sushi. After all, _Simon _wouldn't let Shizuo beat him up now, would he? He smirked slightly as he headed there. The black man smiled upon seeing Izaya.

"Ah, Izaya, good to see you. You in mood for sushi? Is that Shizuo? Did you start a fight again?"

"No, not this time," Izaya said smoothly as he walked inside, just missing the refrigerator tossed at him before Simon caught it and scolded a furious Shizuo.

"Shizuo, violence no good. You stop. People get hurt-"

"I'm not stupid! Let me at that flea! Let me kill that disgusting flea!"

"No, no, you calm down."

Izaya smirked as he ate his tuna. Clearly, he was safe now...that is, until he heard a familiar voice interject.

"...Simon, I think I'll be eating here tonight."

'Crap, Shizu-chan is back!' Izaya thought in alarm. Sighing mentally, the informant kept his head down and focused on eating his tuna. He felt the table he was on shake slightly as a fist came down upon it.

"Guess who's here, flea? It's time to play 'Get the hell out of Ikebukuro," Shizuo hissed, glaring at Izaya, who, for once, looked absolutely disinterested.

"...I'm _eating_, Shizu-chan," Izaya pointed out.

"_So what?_" Shizuo cried, causing all of the customers to look at him in disbelief.

"...Shizuo, you no cause fight in here. This is restaurant, not a rodeo." Simon scolded.

Izaya smirked a little as he ate his tuna. "I think Shizu-chan has timeout."

"What was that, flea?" Shizuo cried, but frowned and stalked off to sit by himself at another table where all the occupants backed away from him.

Izaya just smirked and ate his meal until another unwelcome guest came up beside him.

"Hey there, Izaya! So are you and Shizuo going to make love tonight?"

"What?" Izaya said, turning to look at Erika in disbelief. There were stars in her eyes.

"You know you love Shizuo!" She said.

Izaya shook his head. "Shut up, Erika-chan. Shizu-chan is just a pain in the ass. I'd be happy if he died."

Shizuo fumed as he sat by himself, watching the stupid flea talk crap about him. How dare he sit there looking so satisfied with himself. It was almost as if he had accomplished something major recently. "Bastard," He muttered.

The flea seemed very...nonchalant today. He wasn't moody like he had been the past few days, just not interested in fighting. That was strange. Izaya must be up to something.

He focused hard on his cigarette, but much to his surprise, Izaya didn't make any attempts to insult him at all. If he concentrated hard enough, he could see..._fear_ in his eyes. It was as though he was hiding from someone. Was that why he hadn't called out to Shizuo today?

How odd. Izaya acted more human every time he met him.

"Well, Simon, I think I'm full for now. I'll be headed home tonight. Tell Shizuo good night for me."

'No -chan? Something is up,' Shizuo thought, frowning to himself.

Izaya smirked as he walked out, satisfied at having gotten rid of Shizuo right now. He was in the mood for nothing but a little peace and quiet.

"...Flea."

Izaya ignored him.

"_Flea_!" Shizuo said, coming up to Izaya.

"What, Shizu-chan? I'm bored right now. But I'm interested in watching rather than fighting right now. I'd rather not draw attention to myself."

"Don't you always, flea?" Shizuo said sarcastically, but frowned upon seeing the serious look on Izaya's face.

"...I'm looking for someone right now...so if you don't mind..." Izaya said dryly before striding off. But Shizuo came right beside him.

"...Are you lonely, flea?" Shizuo asked.

Izaya burst out laughing. "Nope, I'm perfectly fine by myself. I didn't know Shizu-chan was so in love with me!"

"You bastard..." Shizuo growled.

"Ahahaha, Shizu-chan is ever amusing." Izaya laughed.

"...Flea...tell me what you're scheming."

"...Nothing. Just someone I've not seen in a while that I intend on seeing again, that's all."

* * *

Sirius Black was confused as he received some messages from the mysterious person who claimed to know where his nephew was.

There was a final message written there:

**I know where Harry Potter is. If you meet me at a Muggle cafe in Tokyo, I'll tell you where he is. We'll finally get to meet in person, Sirius Black. I look forward to meeting you. And I'm dressed in all black, so look for someone wearing black. Get the pun? -A friend**

Confused, Sirius walked around, wondering what or who exactly he was supposed to look for. He entered a little cafe and eyed all the people in it. He didn't see anyone dressed in black, except for a young man sitting at the farthest table, holding a cell phone in his hands, and sipping some tea. He looked at the young man, and the young man smirked as he came near.

_"Hello there, Sirius Black. I'm glad we could meet face to face," He said in bad English. "Do you mind switching to Japanese, please? I'm not very good in English, even though it is my native tongue." _

"Sure..." Sirius said uneasily. He didn't understand that much Japanese, but his magic helped him understand some of it. The man smirked, showing white teeth, an act that intrigued Sirius.

"...That's much better. Now..."

"Where's Harry?" Sirius asked eagerly. The man raised one slender hand up to silence him.

"Now, now, I'm going to get to that. Let's just say that your nephew has been through some...changes while he has been living here in Japan."

"What do you mean...?"

"Hmm...how to put it...well, he's snapped his wand in half, hasn't he? Then that means he's been living without magic."

"Where is he?" Sirius said impatiently.

"The boy known as Harry Potter went through some changes...and now, here he sits before you as a different person," The man said cheerily, before sipping more of his tea and smirking at him.

"_You're _Harry?" Sirius said in disbelief.

"Yep. It's been a long time, godfather." He said, smirking.

"...But, your eyes-"

"Were changed due to surgery and I got rid of my glasses long ago. They were too recognizable."

"But your scar, Harry-"

"I don't go by that name anymore, godfather. I now call myself Izaya Orihara, so if you could call me that, that'd be nice." Izaya said smoothly.

"So...what happened to you?"

"When Ron hit me over the head, you could say I acquired psychosis! Now I only care about achieving my own goals without magic. Humans are far more interesting than wizards ever will be, godfather."

"So...what do you do here?" He asked his nephew.

His nephew smirked broadly. "...I'm an informant. I work for important people, helping them ship important things and people to be picked up by a certain rider. I also do favors for people and they do favors for me. Before you ask, I've done drugs, had a few women and the like."

"But that's wrong!"

"Why not? Rules are for idiots. Besides, I've grown quite fond of this life. And before you ask, yes, I've killed a few people, too."

"Killing is wrong, Harry-"

"Call me Izaya, please."

"Izaya?"

"Yes?" He said smugly.

"Izaya, can...I...live with you?"

"Unfortunately, no. There are idiots from that world stationed around here, so I can't allow myself to be seen with you. Right now, we're just fine. I've become an expert at sneaking around. Besides, your point about killing is sort of silly when you realize you wanted to kill Peter Pettigrew, correct?" Izaya pointed out.

As the two of them exited the building...

"Izaya, can I have your owl?"

"We don't go by owls, dear godfather," Izaya said, "Oh, and please step out of the way."

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"Because..." Izaya said in boredom, "Here comes the cavalry."

"IZAYA!"

Sirius watched as a blond man with sunglasses came storming up to him and his nephew.

"Who the hell is he, flea?" Shizuo barked.

"...No one in particular, Shizu-chan. You want to begin our game today?" Izaya chirped as he pulled out his knife.

"Don't use those-"

"I know what I'm doing. Trust me. Now, godfather, you might want to run away, because it's time for me to play my game with Shizu-chan!"

Before Sirius's surprised eyes, his nephew leapt up on a building with amazing dexterity and the blond man followed after him in rage, throwing item after item and scaring people and animals around them. His nephew smirked at him as he threw an object down on the blond man's head and dyed his hair color a different one.

"...This is just like James," He said with a laugh, "He really is like you, James...besides the killing part. I'm proud of him...even if he is a criminal. At least he's alive."

Sirius watched his nephew for a little bit more before he went into an alley, morphed into a dog and disappeared back to his home, with a smile on the dog's muzzle.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:Well, time for the next chapter! Did you know Izaya calls Shizuo "You-Know-Who" in the first volume of Durarara? Isn't that interesting? I mean...it only adds more certainty to my 'fanon' idea that Izaya is, or used to be Harry Potter, until he became smarter and became less of an easily swayed, easily manipulated dope. I hate the Harry of the books and wish he became as badass as Izaya is, and hence this story was born. But I think to be done realistically, a broken person/sociopath should never be able to forgive those who wronged them. It'd only be in character with Izaya. So there's no Izaya/Hermione pairing.**

**"****It was a mistake, you said. But the cruel thing was, it felt like the mistake was mine, for trusting you," David Levithan, the lover's dictionary, from ~**

**""He had never regarded other men as anything but puppets of a sort, created to fill up an empty world. He divided them into two classes: those he greeted because some chance had put him in contact with them, and those he did not greet. But both these categories of individuals were equally insignificant in his eyes."-An old man, Guy de Maupassant**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: Misgivings and Mistakes**

_"Where _have you been, 'Mione?" Ron Weasley hissed, glaring at his wife with sharp, piercing eyes, causing her to flinch. "I know full well what you've been doing. You're flirting with some guy behind my back, aren't you?" He said as he whipped out her cell phone and started to read through it, only to realize all the messages were deleted.

"Who the hell were you messaging?" He spat.

"No one, Ron. Now stop accusing me-"

"I'm not accusing you. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED!" He cried as he threw a book at her.

"Stop it, Ron," She cried, terrified out of her wits.

"I won't, 'Mione. Whoever it is that you're seeing...you'd better stop, or else I'll take him out in front of you and skin him alive."

"You couldn't do that even if you wanted to, Ron. It's what I'm starting to hate about you and this damned world!"

"What?" Ron said, staring at her in disbelief.

"You heard me!" Hermione cried. "I can't stand this world. I'm fed up with the lies and betrayal. We betrayed our own best friend, Ron. How the hell can you still smile and how can you live with yourself? How can you wake up every day and smile to yourself, and think that your best friend deserved what happened to him-"

"He's dead." Ron said curtly.

"Well, that may be true that he's dead, but think about what your actions did, Ron. Don't you feel bad about what you did to him-"

"No, he deserved it."

Hermione couldn't stand it any longer. Tears filled in her eyes. "Ron, it's times like this that I wish we'd never been married. You're such a sick sociopath! You only think about yourself-"

Images of a young man with cold red eyes, smirking at her as he slashed her arm with his switchblade and his cruel, mocking words, once her best friend, now a shadow of himself, a cruel demon-

"_Run away, useless girl." _

"Myself? If I only cared about myself, Mione, I never would've married you in the first place! I married you because I love you!"

"Yeah, right!" Hermione cried as she picked up her wand and then aimed a spell at him. "Winggardium Leviosa!" She cried, taking his wand from him and then she lifted him up into the air.

"Mione, stop!"

"No!"

"Stop, please!"

"No-"

"Stop! I'm sorry!"

"You're not sorry at all. Ever since we met, all you do is mistreat me, and I won't stand for it any longer-"

"Mione, whoever it is you're seeing behind my back, you'd better bring him in front of me. I want to see the traitor you've been seeing...and I want to kill him!"

"You can't-killing is wrong-"

"Not when your own damned wife is snooping behind your back with someone." He growled.

"...He'd probably kill you first, Ron," Hermione protested. "He would!"

"Mione...you can't hide anything from me."

"Yes...I can! I'm a human being."

"You're my property, 'Mione. How can you talk like this? I thought we agreed that whenever we married, you'd stop thinking about this nonsense-"

"It's not nonsense!" She cried.

"Yes, it is, now stop it!"

"You know what, Ron...screw_ you!" She cried as she ran out, tears streaming down her face._

_'He really was right...Har-no, Izaya...was right. I made a huge mistake,' She thought _as she dropped down onto the sofa and cried. She picked up her spare cell phone and texted a message to Izaya.

'Nakura-san...you were right. Ron has been mistreating me, so I plan on running away from him. I'm beginning to think you were right about what you said-"

* * *

A few moments later, a message came back from Izaya. 'Aha, so you've finally seen reason. I always knew you'd be clever enough to not be swayed by their lies. What do you say you come join my game? Together, we can destroy them.'

'I don't want to join you,' She wrote back. 'I just want you to leave me the hell alone, but at the same time, I just want to get the hell away from this world.'

'You can't...not as long as you're part of Dumbledore...he put a tracking spell on your wand. So long as you have those dinky little things...he can track you and keep you as his tool...'

'Is that why you...'

'Yes, Mione, that's why I destroyed that worthless thing. I don't need stupid, weak magic, and you don't, either.'

'Of course I need it!' She texted back in annoyance.

'Come on back to my office. I'm sure you'll find something very...**amusing **that I've done.'

Dread settled in her heart. 'What? What is it?'

'Ha ha ha, you'll find out when you get here. You'll find it most amusing~"

What on earth was Harry-no, Izaya planning? Whatever it was, it wasn't good. The dread increased as she disappeared in a flash of Floo and used the instructions Izaya had left her and found herself, in his office. She was dressed in her disguise again.

"Orihara, you have a guest."

"Yes, yes~, bring her in, Namie-chan!" Izaya chirped, tapping his pencil on the desk in impatience.

She walked in, noticing that Izaya was staring at her with a smirk on his face. A lazy smirk; it almost looked like there was something akin to surprise in his eyes. His black hair was messy and spiky, and she couldn't even see his scars. Well, if she looked closely, she could see the bottom of the one Ron had given him on his head. She noticed that there was a purple bruise on his right arm, one that Izaya was holding ice to.

"What happened?" She found herself asking.

"Shizu-chan," Izaya said, "We were fighting again, like usual. He beat me up."

"How can you act like that's normal?"

"It is normal for me, Mione. My life is always extraordinary. So why'd you come back here?"

"I need your help," She whispered.

"Oooh, you need my help now? This is extraordinary-"

"You shut up! Can you listen to my story without laughing like you did before?" Hermione snapped.

"Hmm...I won't guarantee that I won't laugh at you, Mione. However, I suppose I'll listen, as long as you fulfill your end of the bargain and become my pawn-"

"I'm not your pawn."

"Ah, you are, Mione. Don't deny it. But all humans are my pawns. That's just how it goes."

"How can you be so heartless?"

"That's just how he is," Namie said.

"Ah, Namie-chan, go ahead and rub the salt in my wounds, won't you?"

"So you don't have any allies?" She said.

"Hmm...I have a few, you could say. A man I consider a true friend and would never betray, Blackie, and maybe even Shizu-chan..."

"The man likes to hurt you, and yet you're calling him an ally?" Namie said sarcastically.

"Oh, Namie-chan, your spirit is so amusing."

"Whatever! I'm out of here. Take your business elsewhere," She said as she stormed out.

"What's wrong with her?" Hermione said.

"Oh, basically, she was the head of a company, and that company went bankrupt, so now I'm making her work for me."

"Against her own will?" Hermione said.

"Yup!" Izaya said happily, which made it all the more unnerving to Hermione, noticing her best friend's lack of empathy.

"How on earth can you laugh that off like it's nothing?" She demanded.

"Because it is! She wanted to help her precious brother, so I'm just fulfilling her wish by having her work for me. She can do whatever she wants, you see. All she has to do is play my game and then she can do whatever she wants."

"No, no games!" Hermione cried. "I just want the full and honest truth from you, Har-er, Izaya-"

"Good," He said sharply, "Now we know exactly what you can call me by, right?"

"Whatever," She cried, "Just tell me what you can do for me."

"Hmm...what can _I _do for you? It's more like what could you do for me?"

"I already did something for you, but I want you to do something for me now."

"All right then..." Izaya said.

She noticed that Izaya was playing some music. "What is that?"

"Hmm...just some music that I like."

**Just play the song Everybody loves me by One Republic. It suits Izaya and it's the song he's listening to. **

"It's quite a catchy melody, don't you think?"

'Whatever," She muttered. "Can you help me?"

"All right," He said, "But let me get everything set up first."

"What do you mean by that?" Hermione demanded.

"Oh, I have some preparations to set up," He said as he walked out, leaving Hermione alone in the office, listening to his music. A few moments later, he walked back in, holding some papers in his hands.

"What did you get?" She asked.

"Oh, just some info on people I can make some deals with. And of course, this is private information, so you're not permitted to look at it." He said as he took out his phone and dialed the number.

"~Oh, hello there, Shiki-san. This is me, Orihara Izaya, Japan's number one information broker at your service! That's no way to greet a friend. Oh, don't worry. I'll definitely pay for that information you gave me. It's not like I'm ungrateful for it, after all you've helped me ever since I came to Japan in search of a job and you gave it to me. So what else would I be besides grateful to you? You've always helped me."

"Har-" She began.

"**Shh," **He said sarcastically, "Oh, who was that? No one in particular, just a client I'm helping out. I have a question, do you have anyone in the Awakusu who'd be able to kill someone for me? Well, you see the problem here is the person lives in a very secluded society. Oh, don't say such words...that really hurts, Shiki-san. Oh, what's that? Akane-chan has run away from home? How interesting..."

"Akane?" She said.

"Shh," He repeated, "Well, like I said, I'm dealing with a very mouthy girl here. No, not a girlfriend, just a pawn. She can't keep her mouth shut, but she's got a good head on her shoulders."

Hermione felt herself blush at those words.

"My my, you're right. We're both manipulative, aren't we? We're just busy fulfilling our own needs. That's just how it is. You want me to find Akane-chan? That should be no problem, I mean, with the wide network of information I have, there's no way I won't succeed. But right now, let's not discuss this in front of her, because she's a witness and there's a chance she could repeat those words to the wrong person, so, goodbye!"

Then he hung up and dialed another number. "Hello, this is Izaya Orihara...oh, why are you on the other end, Ryuugamine-kun? I was looking for...Shizu-chan. Why are you answering his phone? Oh, Ryuugamine-kun, I love your little terms of affection for me. And don't worry, I'm not about to spill all of your secrets, because that would mean I'd have to spill all of mine. But that's for later. What I want to ask you is if you could track down a man by the name of Ronald Weasley. That'd be most helpful. Thank you, and please don't say such vulgar language in front of a woman."

"So...are you done?" She said in annoyance.

"Yup!" He chirped. "I'm finished. I think I've got my information sources straight."

"How will you cover for knowing about Ron?"

"Oh, I told them that he's basically a psycho-"

"But he's not a psycho."

"Oh, come now, Mione. Surely you've come to realize that he doesn't give a damn about you. He's been busy beating you up." He said, while shuffling through the pages of a book.

"What is that you're looking at?" She asked.

"Oh, the Bible...the prophet Isaiah..." He trailed off, smirking as he held the pages.

"So what's with you and Isaiah...?" She asked.

"...I'm highlighting information-"

"So, who's Isaiah?"

"The prophet, like I said before. _My righteousness is near, my salvation is near, and thine judgment is near, so you shall have them trust in you."_

"Why'd you name yourself that?"

"Oh...because I feel like...since I took my name, Izaya from the prophet, Isaiah...because I know I have wisdom to give to the people who don't know anything better."

"So what's your strategy?"

"Hmm...you'll just have to wait and see. But for right now, all you have to know, Mione, is that you can get out of here now, and I will contact you again whenever I need you, for now I'm gonna play it safe and keep away from the wizards. I'm pretty sure Dumbledore is keeping an eye on your movements, isn't he...Dumbbelldore?"

"He's not dumb!" Hermione protested.

"No, you're right. He's a manipulative jerk-"

"Just like you," She spat.

"Ah, but at least I've a pure reason for doing it."

"Whatever," She said. "Why are you looking at the Bible, anyway?"

"Oh, it's interesting literature. But I don't believe a word of it. All right, now go away-"

"What?"

'That's all, Mione. Now don't contact me for a while. I've got to set up some things."

As she left, he turned to stare at the picture of Awakusu Akane. "My, my, why would you run away, Akane-chan?"

* * *

He turned to study his notes and smirked. "Everything's going just as planned." Izaya read back over the furious reply he'd gotten back from one Ron Weasley.

"Mione! Where the hell's Mione?! I know you have her there!'

'~My, my, is this the same person who beat the crap out of her?'

'Whoever you are, just leave her alone.'

'Why don't ~you~ leave her alone? You're such a jerk, anyway.'

'Whatever.'

He turned to look at his book, where he'd highlighted his favorite quotes, and one said, 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.' Izaya had also added wizard to the quote as well.

"One of these days, Dumbassdore, you're going to be the downfall of your society.'

* * *

The next day, Mikado and Masaomi were walking when they came across Shizuo walking around.

His eyes widened then as he saw Izaya come out.

"Izaya!" He cried.

"Hey, Shizu-chan. Let's play our game like usual," He purred.

"Good."

'Looks like they're back to normal,' Masaomi thought.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:I think it's about time some of Izaya's old foes come and meet him. I've been thinking hard about him perhaps meeting Fenrir Grayback or Lucius Malfoy, but eventually I came to decide on Fenrir. You know, the werewolf dude who hasn't been expanded on much, but I think he'd make for an interesting encounter. After all, Voldemort is working with Izaya; why wouldn't his Death Eaters want to check out who their leader is negotiating with? And no, before you ask, Izaya will not be a werewolf, he's just ruthless enough as it is. Izaya is as sadistic as a human being can be without any superpowers. I saw some interesting quotes while I was reading some fanfiction the other day. They talked about Percy saying if "Anyone snapped under pressure, it'd be Potter. I'm surprised he didn't lose it." HA HA! So my theory is not just fanon, it's CANON. Insane Harry is far more interesting than sane Harry, at any rate. Izaya pretty much writes himself. No werewolf, no OOC sex. Sorry yaoi fans, take that elsewhere. At the very least, this is mild Shizuo and Izaya. :D **

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Lupine Desires**

Fenrir Grayback was a complex being; for he was a largely misunderstood creature known as a werewolf; a half-human, half-wolf. He was hated and feared by both the Muggle population and the wizards for what he was, and gradually he grew to accept that this fear and hatred of him was only natural.

The wizards were such a cowardly, loathsome race. They didn't bother to use their intellect or their muscles-_to fight back against their prey- _instead, they relied on cheap little wands to chant a spell and instantly think all their problems would be gone just by flashing a bright light. Oh, without their wands, wizards were certainly most tasty and it was ever so delightful to hear their screams as he devoured them.

He wasn't really a big fan of eating adults, though. He'd much rather go for children, they were so tasty but obnoxiously loud and screaming things that cried and moaned. They were so useless, unlike _his pups, _who knew how to kill from a young age and could take care of themselves, human pups were completely helpless for most of their lives. How could they expect to survive when they couldn't do anything to fight back at a young age?

It just sickened Fenrir, seeing how cruel humans were to his pack of wolves; wolves that hadn't done anything to them. He had seen the barbarity of wizards all too often. One time, his entire pack had been attacked while he had been alone hunting in the woods. He still never forgot the whimpers of his mate as she lay there, suffering from the Cruciatus curse that wizards had inflicted upon her.

He would never forgive them for their heinous crimes, but he had only chosen to go with the Death Eaters because they themselves had enough sense to realize that sometimes cruelty was the only way you could obtain a better end in the world, and because they didn't discriminate against his kind, whereas the 'ordinary' wizards were full of themselves and wouldn't let a werewolf keep a house simply because he happened to be part-beast, part-human. Apparently, they forgot about the human part of him that used to care about what they thought, because now he didn't give a damn.

Lately, his master Voldemort seemed to have changed in personality. He seemed brighter and happier than usual. This usually inflicted fear in the hearts of the Death Eaters, wondering if he would kill someone in his bout of murderous rage. He had been talking to them about a new supporter who had been supplying him with information on the wizards and what they were doing. He didn't tell them who it was, specifically, and the Death Eaters knew better than to question his orders.

For whatever secrets Lord Voldemort had, they went with him to the grave. Just like that little whelp who had stood up to Voldemort so many times had..._what _was his name again? Fenrir scratched his head and found that he couldn't recall the boy's name. Harvey...Harold...oh, wait, it was Harry Potter, wasn't it? That boy...had been utterly forgettable and so bland.

If Voldemort was evil, then Albus Dumbledore was one hundred times worse. Dumbledore desired power more than anything, which was why he wanted Voldemort and the Death Eaters out of the way. He was insane in his beliefs; insane over the idea that the wizards and humans could ever get along. Look what they had done to him and his pack. Humans couldn't be trusted.

Wolves, on the other hand, had an honor code and a sense of duty. They knew which packs to stay out of and which to enter. Fenrir's pack was his family, and he would never let any harm come to them. Currently, he had been bored with life in the Wizarding World, so he had decided to hang around with his pack some more. At least, that was until he heard some juicy information.

"...Wormtail, don't you question my orders! You are not to pry into matters that do not concern you, namely the case with the man who gives me information! I am upholding my deal with him by not giving you his name. For he, too, will meet his end at my hands, when I am done with him, but in an honorable way. I will let him know when he is to die. No, Wormtail, you are not to meet this man. Are you disobeying me?"

Wormtail, such a cowardly individual. He turned into such a juicy looking rat, too...the wolf's mouth fell open, imagining himself eating the delicious, plump rat. It would be so good, too. But he couldn't, so he was disappointed.

Voldemort looked at him. "Did you overhear?" He said sharply.

"...I heard a few things. Who is this person of yours?"

Voldemort smirked. "...Not to worry. _He _is quite an amusing human. I just can't wait to see the look on Dumbledore's face...when he sees what has become of his...tool..." He trailed off.

"What do you mean?" Fenrir questioned, wondering what the man was on about.

A few days later, the mysterious guest showed up again, and once more, the Death Eaters were ordered out, but their curiosity would not permit them to stop asking questions about the stranger their leader was talking to.

Fenrir's keen nose caught a whiff of tuna, for some strange reason, and of...a limited magical aura. How strange. Why would Voldemort even work with a man that had no magic in him? In other words, this man was either a Squib, an unthinkable concept...or...a _Muggle? _

Fenrir had grown curious about the man, so he decided to follow the weak magic link the man possessed with his keen nose. To his surprise, the link led him to Japan, of all places. What would a wizard be doing here, of all places?

* * *

Curiosity filled his being as he watched the annoying humans with contempt in his eyes. They had no respect for his kind, why should he have any for any of their kind? An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. That was the way things worked.

He saw a few children beating up on another kid, one who was smaller and wasn't fighting back. Fenrir just rolled his eyes. Humans were all too primitive for their own good. There wasn't a single one among them that had any brains.

Then he saw a man beating up on a woman. He frowned. Wolves didn't beat up their mates. It was a mutual respect between the two. How uncivilized.

"...My, my, what do we have here? Nothing but a man who likes to take out his problems by beating up on women now, huh? Such an interesting, yet utterly tedious fellow you are," A snide voice said. Definitely cultured and intellectual, and definitely arrogant.

"...Stay out of this, kid. This isn't your business!"

"Oh? Really, then why are you beating her up where everyone can see? In that case, aren't you just showing off your domestic problems because you love doing it? What an arrogant man you are! It's so pathetic, really. You see, people like you are so utterly useless. The same goes for you. Why won't you fight back? If you don't fight back, you're as good as dead." The voice sneered.

Fenrir saw a young man in his early twenties step out, smirking darkly, a look of vague amusement hovering in his crimson eyes. Oh, this man..._he lived for thrills. _There was a taste of something familiar about him, yet unfamiliar. He had spiky black hair and wore a fur jacket, probably artificial, he thought in distaste. For a moment, he couldn't believe someone so young could utter such bitter and cynical words.

"...You arrogant little punk!" The man cried, coming at the boy, who lazily dodged the blow, jumping to the side with amazing speed before he cleaved the man's shirt and pants in two with his switchblade, allowing only his underwear to show. The crowd around them burst out laughing at the scene and the red-faced man started to curse at the boy.

"My, my, such vulgarity. It's all too _typical_ for a disgusting human like you. Should I let you live...or should you just live with this humiliation and wallow in it?" He sneered. Fenrir found himself taking a liking to the kid.

Blunt honesty was the best way to be. Sometimes, people didn't understand things any other way.

"...Who are you?" The woman moaned, staring at her savior. The boy sighed.

"Look, I'm _not_ interested in you or your affairs. I only 'rescued' you so you could shut up and stop annoying me with your little argument. Frankly speaking, if you're being abused, you should do more to resist. Stop being such a wimp. So, to be honest, I don't want you at all. Just disappear, okay?" He said sarcastically.

The woman cried and ran off. The crowd around them dispersed, most looking at the boy in shock. The boy rolled his eyes and waved sarcastically at them as they left. Strange...the magical aura was coming from this boy. Yet he didn't seem to have a wand on him at all. He'd have to be stealthy, then. Approach him quietly...then interrogation time...

The boy blinked as everyone else walked off and then stuck his hands in his pockets and started to whistle a tune as he wandered away. Perfect. He was just vulnerable enough that Fenrir could strike. Fenrir followed, as quietly as he could and the boy never noticed. They had gone several blocks when...

"...Look, whatever it is you want from me, state it now. There are no witnesses here, so if I wind up killing you or you wind up killing me, no one will care." He said monotonously as he turned back to meet the eyes of the werewolf. Those were the eyes of a killer.

"...Are you a wizard?" He asked.

The young man blinked, and then sneered. "...You mean you're one of _those_ fools? Sorry, but I don't go waving around something that's supposed to make up for something I'm lacking anatomically or whatever you want to call it. I'm not that insecure."

"...So you are associated with them? Is that why you have a magical aura?" Fenrir questioned.

"Look, I'm not a wizard, so just drop it. I would never want to be associated with cowards who abandon their own kind when they need them most. What are you, a human...or...something else; perhaps someone who's been mistreated by the ignorant wizards?" He smirked.

"...I'm surprised you haven't heard of me. I'm a werewolf; Fenrir Grayback. I could kill you in a second and make you like me and no one would care."

"Ooh, am I _supposed_ to be scared? It's not like you'd want to. I am just an ordinary Muggle, after all. Oh, wait...maybe that's not quite correct," He said calmly, and then smirked. "...I don't think Shizu-chan will be here, so we can talk here if you'd like!"

Fenrir paused. Didn't this man have any sense of fear? "Who are you?" The kid had spunk.

The man's crimson eyes glowed with excitement, much like Voldemort's. "Some call me an informant, others call me a hero or their savior. You can just call me a lover of humanity."

"...Don't you fear me?" Fenrir asked.

"Fear is a weak emotion for weaker individuals. There's no need for me to possess it when I already live around death. Death is a part of life. Better to accept it than deny it." The man said with a dark chuckle.

"...You've taken lives before?" He said.

The man chuckled darkly. "Yes. I enjoy every moment of it," He said, licking his lips. "Or else watching it is enjoyable as well. You're a real werewolf? How interesting."

"...Are you the man Voldemort's been meeting with?"

"Yep, but why should you care? It's not like I possess any magic!" The man said cheerfully. "In fact...I'm completely powerless, so you could kill me if you felt like it. Why aren't you?"

"...You don't seem stupid. What's your name?"

"...Hmm...well, my name is Izaya Orihara, an informant. Nice to make your acquaintance, Fenrir-san." The man extended a hand and Fenrir accepted, confused by the man's casual tone. How could he be so confident around a werewolf?

As if reading his thoughts, the man laughed. "...I don't care. I want to live above everything else. What you see before you now is the result of careless, disgusting people known as wizards who-"

But before he could say anything else, a garbage can collided with the man, sending him flying.

"...What kind of spell was that?" Fenrir said.

"I-IIIIIIIZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAA, GET OUT OF IKEBUKURO!" A deep voice cried.

Izaya got back up, wiping the blood off his face, smirking dangerously. "Let's get going, then...Fenrir-san, you may want to leave now. Oh, and just so you know...I was once a wizard known as the Boy-Who-Lived, but that's ancient history!" He said before cackling madly and speeding off towards his adversary.

"...Harry Potter is now a deranged psychopath? What a _wonderful_ world this is!" Fenrir cried, having forgotten about the need to make him a werewolf. The man was brutal enough and down-to-earth for a mere human being. He had no need of it. Now...there were others who could do with it...such as one Albus Dumbledore...or perhaps that stupid boy...the son of Lucius Malfoy.

'To think I ran into a werewolf! How interesting this day is turning out to be!' Izaya thought happily.

'Who would've ever thought the Boy-Who-Lived would give up his magic to become a Muggle?' Fenrir thought, smirking to himself. The boy was most amusing and delightfully psychotic.

He needed some insanity in his life.

"What are you so happy about, Orihara?" Namie said darkly as Izaya strode back into her apartment, laughing hysterically.

"...Shizu-chan..." He said, laughing again.

"Whatever...Seiji actually bothered to come say hi to me today," She said. "But that stupid girl tagged along with him."

"...She's actually quite the crafty type, that one is," Izaya murmured. "She's placed wiretaps in this place. So be careful."

Namie's eyes widened. "That little bi-"

"Now, now, no cursing. We _are_ being wiretapped. What would they think?" Izaya said sardonically.

* * *

"You _are_ infuriating!"

"I enjoy being infuriating!" Izaya chirped, as a steaming mad Namie left, intent on throttling that stupid girl who had stolen her beloved Seiji away. "...Namie...your incestuous crush is quite disturbing...but ever so entertaining."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N:Happy birthday, Izaya! For his sake, this story will be updated today. :D I hope you all sincerely enjoy the chapter. Yes, I know Harry's birthday is July 31st. I'm not an HP fan for nothing. I find it sincerely interesting that his birthday is days apart from Sasuke's. XD Cool, huh? Well, on to the chapter. Two days late from Izaya's birthday...oh, well. There may be a few scenes with Celty in here, and we also meet Akane Awakusu! Yay! :D And 127 follows and 135 favorites? You guys rule. For some other evil Harry fanfictions which have him being another character, you might want to check out Abyss of Silence, Two for One Deal, Frozen Emerald Eyes, Cursed Green Eyes (one by me with Harry as Jack Vessalius)...etc. I can't really think of any others off the top of my head. Tell me if you know~ I really wish there were more fanfictions on here about Harry wising up and running away and becoming someone else. :/ I had a dream about Harry being Izaya, actually. I know because I wrote it down in my dream diary. O.O On to the chapter...

Edited as of 5/25/2015 for consistency

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One Izaya's Machinations

"These humans really make me so tired," Izaya Orihara remarked. The twenty-three year old man turned to look at the clock that stood on his desk and noticed that the time was 11:23 p.m. He let out a loud sigh.

He was used to working long hours at night. Hell, he was _used_ to staying up late all night; he was an information broker, after all, he had to work odd hours, doing things for all sorts of people.

Right now, what he was currently looking up were the whereabouts of Awakusu Akane, his boss Shiki's granddaughter who had gone missing.

He had sent Namie-chan in order to do some sort of research into where the little girl was.

He wanted to figure out where she was because first, she was only ten years old, after all, and as Izaya thought back over it, he was reminded of himself at a young age, of how many times he had _stared out the window at night _and dreamed of running away from the Dursleys, of being away from that cupboard.

Every single time he had tried to question the Headmaster about it, the Headmaster had told him he would just have to get used to his big, mean uncle, even after Izaya had shown him the bruises he'd acquired from years of spending time with them. The _only_ one who had taken him seriously had been Minerva McGonagall.

She had immediately demanded to know where they lived and _why_ Dumbledore had told him to stay there, but later on, she didn't take him seriously and she had told him to stop making up such tales; deep inside, that had hurt. It really, deeply hurt for him as he realized that the people he thought he could trust..._that they no longer trusted him._

It was heartbreaking to have such a young child think all of that stuff...to think that the world would never care about them, to think that they would never, never love him unless he did as he was told.

Oh, sure, he'd tried to go to other people; he had told that batty nurse, Pomfrey or Pomegranate, about some of his bruises and he remembered her wide-eyed looks of horror. He remembered her concern that he had brushed off when she had been worried about a particularly nasty bruise he'd gotten from dear old Uncle Vernon when he'd been whacked across the foot. Oh, the bruises had healed, but some of the scars still lingered.

He raised up his left arm, staring at it, eying the pale scar that was still on his left arm. There it was, faded and white, it was just a pale mark now, a mark of an incident that had happened nearly...twenty years ago. It had almost been eighteen years...well, _nineteen years, _to be more exact, if you counted his birthday was coming up in a few days.

Nineteen years since that bright, sunny day whenever he had been attacked by that dog. 'Man, I really can't stop yawning, now, can I?' Izaya thought, stifling one with his right hand and allowing those memories to flow back into his head.

He could recall how he'd been wandering around his yard, and then he had seen his Aunt Petunia, (who had never been like a pretty flower to him; more like a weed). Even as a little kid, Izaya had known he had traces of sociopathy even from a young age.

For some reason, from the time he went to Hogwarts, he felt like it was suppressed, somehow. Izaya had always been_ very good_ at observing people; he had always known how he could avoid his uncle's scathing looks, the beatings he would get from them, a whisper or two behind his back by Ron and Hermione. He'd always been particularly good at avoiding them, but...

Slowly, he raised a slender finger and touched the wound.

"To think it all happened...so long ago. My, time _really does_~ fly, doesn't it? Heh heh heh...I mean, I certainly would never think of myself living in Japan. If I could travel back in time to visit poor little Harry Potter and tell him he would live a life away from all of those idiots...doing his own thing. I'm sure Harry Potter would have had a heart attack on the spot. I really am tired today, aren't I? But I've gotta figure out where Akane-chan is," He muttered.

He could recall that annoying bulldog; the one that his Aunt Margarine had kept with her all the time. It seemed from the second they had met, the bulldog had taken an instant dislike to Izaya; much like a certain bartender with blond hair had...Izaya resisted the urge to laugh.

He frowned as he recalled the time the bulldog had chased him up a tree and he had stayed up in the tree, frozen in fear, too afraid to really do anything. Oh, of course his cousin Dudley had gotten a great kick out of seeing his 'cousin' being chased by it.

He couldn't remember how long he had lain up there in terror. He rummaged around in his drawers for something...something he needed. It just would not be found so easily.

He remembered how Petunia had reluctantly put antiseptic on his wound. For a rare moment, Izaya found himself wondering if perhaps she had actually cared about him, but...that was unlikely.

As he searched, a few papers slid into his lap. He stared at them and realized it was a picture of a smiling Akane with a room full of her friends, who were smiling, but it looked forced.

"Isn't that familiar?" Izaya snarked. "Putting a child through that set of circumstances...it's all too similar to my own childhood," He muttered.

"I can understand why you'd want to run away, Akane-chan. After all, my life...I was used, lied to, manipulated, and even tortured, so yes I can understand why. You're just about my age when I went into that stupid society..."

It was true that Izaya was a criminal, and that he was dishonest; that was the way of the world. He really couldn't stand hurting kids, and that was why when he looked at the runaway girl, he felt a strange kinship between them.

Hey, he had run to Ikebukuro to escape the clutches of the hellhole called the Wizarding World. He had been resentful, angered and jealous, but he had managed to reshape himself into the illustrious, ruthless, smart, and (on the surface,) secure psychopath.

"I'm anything but secure," He whispered, yawning again and then closing his eyes...for some reason, he felt awfully tired today and allowed himself to fall asleep for a little while, just until Namie-chan would find him some information on Akane-chan's whereabouts...just for a little while...the informant relaxed as he fell asleep.

Unfortunately, when he went to sleep, the conscience of the former Boy-Who-Lived came to the surface and his past often came to haunt him in his dreams.

* * *

_"Wake up..." A familiar voice muttered. Groaning, Izaya turned over._

"_Fuck off," He cursed in Japanese. The voice paused._

_"What did he say, Ron? I couldn't understand him in the slightest."_

_"...Blimey if I know. What is he, a Muggle? He doesn't look like a wizard and he has no wand on him, either. Ya think maybe he knows something about that git?"_

_"Now's not the time to discuss Harry, Ron. Not in front of a Muggle. We might have to obliviate his memories."_

_Izaya stirred then, opening his crimson eyes and blinking a few times as he realized he was looking up into the faces of his traitorous friends, Ron and Hermione. They looked...younger. Oh, he was dreaming again. That figured. He looked down at himself; same fur jacket, same silver ring on his finger, same scar he'd gotten fighting with Shizu-chan...yup, he was himself._

_He got up and brushed their hands aside with a scornful look on his face as he wandered away, brushing himself off. Everything in this dream felt so real, though. It felt almost like a memory of some sort. _

_Izaya blinked and stared at his reflection, then gasped. He saw a boy with black hair and green eyes, dressed in overly big clothes, wearing glasses, with a scar on his forehead. Wait...no, he blinked, and the image faded to show an Asian young man with spiky black hair and red eyes...his face._

_'That's good. I'm myself in this dream.' He thought, smirking as he examined himself, noting that he looked quite good, despite the bruise Shizu-chan had given him on his shoulder the other day and the bruise he had on his arm. A hand went to his forehead, where his scar was from Ron's wand...he could feel it. It didn't tingle, though. His other scar didn't, either._

_He could feel the magical auras of people all around him, but they couldn't feel his, because his connection with his wand had been severed long ago. He smirked and then noticed his 'friends' were trailing curiously behind him, wondering who he was and what he was doing here._

_He smirked at them both and decided to say in Japanese, "Long time no see, traitors...or should I say, former friends?"_

_"What'd you say?" Ron said._

_"Not too bright, are you, Ron-kun? I figured as much." Izaya chuckled darkly, an act that spooked the two, who were evidently noticing there was something off about him. Good...they could fear him now...which was what he wanted them to feel...sick traitors._

_"...Don't insult me!" Ron barked, understanding Izaya was mocking him and not liking it._

_"Too bad...ginger...I don't speak English too well...but I can tell, you're awfully stupid, no?" Izaya snarked, enjoying watching the boy's face turn beet red with anger._

_"Don't make fun of my friend! Who are you and how could you land inside Hogwarts?"_

_"...That sounds like the name of a prison, Miss...?"_

_"Hermione. Hermione Granger. And this is Ron Weasley. You are...?"_

_"...Nakura-san. My name is Nakura-san." He said, flashing a fake smile._

_"That sounds like a fake name," She said._

_"It is," He replied. "I don't wish to give out my real name to strangers."_

_He smirked at them both as he tucked his hands into his pockets and walked off, whistling, only to blink as a stone pillar was thrown right at him. He dodged._

_"IIIIIIIIIZZZZAAAAYYYYYAAAAA-KUNNNNN, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"_

_"Ah, right on time, Shizu-chan~" Izaya purred, "I see you were sent here as well."_

_"Where the hell are we, flea? And who are they?" Shizuo roared, startling the two traitors into a stunned silence._

_"These two are the people who betrayed me, Shizu-chan. They're the ones who made me insane. You remember what I told you, right? It wasn't too long before I found Akane-chan that I decided to tell you...my story..."_

_"...I won't tell anyone, flea. You're mine to kill, and mine only. I won't let anyone destroy my enemy and take advantage of him again. This Dumbassdore will die for what he did to my rival."_

_"My, Shizu-chan, you really are starting to like me, aren't you?"_

It was then that Izaya awoke and realized it was morning already. There was no call from Namie, so he figured she hadn't found the girl yet. There was a call on his phone from...Shizuo. Izaya blinked in surprise and lifted the phone up to his ear.

"Shizu-chan, why'd you call me?"

"Shut up, flea. I want to talk to you privately. I want you to tell me all that you're hiding." He said sharply.

"I can keep secrets if I want, Shizu-chan." Izaya teased, then realized this scene felt awfully familiar...he'd done it in his dreams and now this event was happening right now. He felt queasy all of a sudden.

Shizuo had already hung up. Izaya sighed. "It's probably time I tell Shinra, too..." He whispered.

Shizuo glared at Izaya as the latter strode casually into his apartment, acting like he owned the place, but he looked surprisingly nervous.

"You're sure this place isn't bugged?" He asked.

"Nope. I checked already," Shizuo said. "Now, we're free to talk, flea. Tell me everything."

"...All right," Izaya agreed reluctantly. "...As you know, my real name-or, my birth name, was not Izaya Orihara. I chose this new name for myself shortly after I arrived in Japan."

"...How long ago was that-"

"Nine years ago," Izaya said darkly.

"But you-you didn't, did you-?"

"Yup, I ran away from another country...or to be more specific, England. I was born and raised in England, so unless you listen closely, you can't even tell I have an accent. My English now is deeply accented, so I sound like a native Japanese to the average speaker. I was fourteen when I did so-I'm twenty-four years old now."

"...What's your real name?"

Izaya hesitated. "My birth name was...Harry. Harry Potter, but I don't go by that name anymore. Too many bad memories, Shizu-chan."

"I'm still confused," Shizuo stated.

"You're bound to be. Now let me explain...my parents...Lily and James...they weren't ordinary...they were mythical people, a wizard and a witch..."

"Wizards and witches exist, flea?"

"Yes..." Izaya said, his fists tightening. "I used to be one of them."

"What were your parents like?"

A hard look crossed Izaya's face. "They died when I was a year old, Shizu-chan. They were murdered."

A surprised look crossed Shizuo's face and he dropped the cigarette he was holding onto the floor and he stomped it out quickly. "You're not serious, are you?"

"Do I look like I'm joking, Shizu-chan?" Izaya scoffed. "Anyhow, there's this community called the Wizarding World. They're very backwards-minded and don't believe in 'Muggle' technology or customs. They do everything with magic and wands, so they don't believe in doing anything without a wand. They're a very narrow-minded and stupid group of idiots. So...there was this man called Voldemort, who led this group called the Death Eaters. He wanted power..."

Shizuo was listening avidly. Izaya didn't sound like he was lying. It was rare for him to be so serious.

"...He learned there would be a child born who could defy him and eventually destroy him. That child was me. As you can guess, he murdered my parents. My mother died protecting me, and somehow, I destroyed him. Then I was taken by a man named...Albus Dumbledore...a sick son of a bitch. He decided...that since I had no parents, I should be sent to my relatives, my aunt. They didn't have magic and didn't understand that world...so, instead of explaining anything to them, they left me all alone on a doorstep with just a note. Without having any contact with that world until I was eleven so they could 'collect' me; Dumbbelldore thought me having no knowledge would suffice."

"...My god...that's terrible, flea-"

"There's more, Shizu-chan. You see, Dumbbelldore is the head of the school for magic I went to. But he's like me-manipulative and ruthless. He's much worse than I am. He doesn't give a damn about human lives. He left me with those people, knowing how they would treat me and he didn't give a damn."

"What about your life there?"

"...Hmm...I wasn't allowed to sleep in a room and just in a cupboard, I had to wear oversized clothes, do all the work around the house and make everyone's food for them, starve, and if I didn't, I'd be beaten, whacked, whipped, etc. I got used to it. I had no friends at school, either. Even then, I had traces of my sociopathy. Then the school came to collect me in the form of a giant, Shizu-chan. Right away, I was controlled. I was fed lies about my school and my heritage. Immediately, I met and 'befriended' a boy named Ron. It turned out...he was just a tool, too..."

He immediately launched into an explanation of his first year, then his second and third, and Shizuo sat there in stunned silence, watching as his hated rival suddenly became more human in front of his eyes. It actually made sense, how he acted and why he did what he did. Why hadn't he seen it before?

"...So, what happened to make you leave?"

"Funny you should ask that. Well, I was selected for a killing tournament without my permission or me being allowed to vote out of it. My best friend wouldn't talk to me afterwards. So I went to Hermione and Ron and overheard them talking about how they were sick of pretending to like me. I confronted them and Runt got mad and whacked me over the head with his wand...giving me a concussion and this scar here. When I woke, I was in the hospital and then I heard all the people I trusted insulting me and acting like I was nothing...I was shattered then and there, but something inside me snapped. I left a note cursing those fools out and snapped that wand in half, destroying my magic and left to save my own hide. I also developed psychosis from Runt's actions, Shizu-chan. So, after that, I sank into the underworld, doing my fair share of crime in exchange for changing my name and how I looked. That's what happened, basically. And those men...they're old friends of mine...and that girl...she's the one who betrayed me before. I'm currently hiding from those fools." Izaya finished, watching his rival.

"...Is that all really true-?"

"Yes, it is, Shizu-chan. Now, will you tell everyone?"

"No...if you want to be hidden, I can understand why. I could never sell you out to people like that. You're my rival and I'm the only one who can kill you. You make me sick and I despise you, but I think...now I understand you more. I'm glad you opened up to me. I won't tell anyone...and we'll make that bastard pay for what he did to you. I want to kick his ass myself."

Izaya chuckled. "Shizu-chan, I knew you'd react this way. I'm glad you were able to listen to me!" He cried.

"Does anyone else-"

"Nope, Kida-kun and the others have no idea...I don't want to involve them." He said coldly. "I just want to kill that old man myself."

Shizuo just smirked. "There's the flea I know. We'll kick their asses together and then I'll kill you."

Izaya smirked.

"Aren't you going to smile?" Shizuo asked.

"I lost my ability to smile long ago, Shizu-chan." Izaya said in amusement.


	22. Chapter 22

**Now I'm quite happy with this story of mine. So, to the anonymous coward, I have this to say: if you're expecting something lighthearted and happy like My Little Pony or Care Bears, go read that. But don't expect a story with the **_**psychopathic Izaya **_**as the main character to be anything but disturbing. Ordinary people are going to be sickened by the way Izaya treats people; that's how he is, if you can't handle that, go read something light, or better yet, go read the books where Harry is obnoxiously naive and forgiving and acts nothing at all like a real person. This is an AU story-and unfortunately it falls by the cliches of Dumbledore Bashing and Weasley bashing-but I've been trying to not fall into it that much-I've seen how easily good fanfiction can be ruined by too much bashing. So if you don't like this, push the back button and go read something else. That's all for that; now on to the next chapter. **

**Chapter Twenty-two Akane-chan, found**

* * *

Shizuo stared at his hated enemy, the flea, who was still smirking at him with that same contemptible grin on his face;...but now, everything made sense. His toying with others, his depraved nature...all of it had been made and not necessarily born; he could easily see now how the flea had once been an ordinary human...or as ordinary as a person with _magic, _of all things, could be.

"...You feel bad for me, Shizu-chan?" Izaya snarked. "I know full well you won't tell anyone, not even Shinra, because you see me as your rival and that would ruin any of the fun we have in our games."

"...To be honest, flea, I understand what Celty meant by you being a broken person. You weren't always this sick in the head and twisted...you were-"

"Doing it to survive, yes," Izaya said happily, "You see now what I meant? Sometimes it's when you've lost your mind that everything makes the most sense, as strange as it is."

Shizuo stared at his enemy. "...So, you don't honestly feel anything anymore?"

Izaya shrugged. "I feel the same things you do, anger, pity, fear, sadness...regret. I just choose not to dwell upon them. It's stupid to dwell on things of the past. That's what I believe, anyway..."

He sighed then as he whipped out a can of ootoro from his freezer and ate; slowly but surely, never taking his sharp, piercing eyes away from Shizuo. "...Shizu-chan, I don't feel the need for you to cry for me, or hug me or anything. I don't need anyone except myself."

"...You're wrong," Shizuo said, "You can't live all by yourself. You need someone. Now that I think about it, you're probably just a lonely person, huh?"

"Not really..." Izaya said, shrugging his shoulders, "I don't care about anyone except myself...that's just how it has been since that day when I lost everything...now, of course...I expect you to never tell anyone else of this, understand? Or else I will kill you, Shizu-chan."

"You don't want to," Shizuo deduced. "You don't want to kill me. Am I that entertaining of a tool to have around that you have to keep me alive? What's your reason for doing so?"

"...You're very fascinating. That's why," He said before twirling his pocket knife around. "Imagine...two humans, both afflicted with differences; one with superior intellect and knowledge, another gifted with super strength...and then the world...the world envies them for their gifts and misuses them and hurts them. It's a sad truth, isn't it?" He said darkly.

"...I suppose," Shizuo said slowly, not sure what to say to his archenemy, to the person who had mostly made his life hell from the time they had met. "So, why do you do this? Why did you tell me all this, if you don't trust a single person on earth?"

"..." Izaya was silent. "...I can trust you, Shizu-chan. I can trust my stupid rival to be so sympathetic that he won't bother to tell anyone."

"Flea, I can't trust someone like you." Shizuo said in annoyance. "You're such a stone-cold, broken down, manipulative bastard."

"You're a stupid protozoan who doesn't know when to stop smoking and can never shut up. Do you see me complaining about you?" Izaya snarked, glancing at him with such amused red eyes that Shizuo had to jump back.

"Flea...are you happy?" Shizuo said in disbelief.

"Nope, just enjoying myself. I can never feel fully human," Izaya said happily, "But that's what I despise. That part of me is still tied to that stupid place-"

"You'll never go back there, flea. I won't let them hurt you."

Izaya laughed. "Ha ha, Shizu-chan, are you worried about my well-being or something? Don't be absurd. I can defend myself."

"...I'm the only one who gets to beat you up, flea," Shizuo remarked. "I'm going. I can't stand the smell of ootoro; it's driving me nuts."

"Ahahaha, now you're saying that, huh?" Izaya teased, but Shizuo ignored him. Suddenly, there was the sound of lightning as thunder crashed outside and a fierce rainstorm came down.

"...How long has that storm been going on?" Shizuo asked, staring at the rain in disbelief. "There's no way I'll be able to go outside in this weather."

"Is little Shizu-chan afraid of a thunderstorm?" Izaya snarked.

"Shut the hell up, flea!" Shizuo cried in annoyance. "...I'll hit you!"

But at that moment, Izaya's phone rang. "Hello? Oh, didn't you know it's not smart to be ton the phone during a thunderstorm, Namie-chan? Oh, don't say such awful things~ Oh, you've found her~? Wonderful. Bring her in, please..."

Izaya smirked as he watched the sight of the brown sky outside. "...That rain is awful, isn't it?" He said darkly.

"...I don't like the rain," Shizuo said, as the door opened and Namie walked in; behind her was a small child, covered with rain.

* * *

"Here she is...I'm going home..." She spat, not sparing another glance at Izaya.

"~Thank you, Namie-chan!" He said out loud as he got up, looking at the little girl in disbelief before a smirk made its way on his face.

"...Who are you?" The little girl said, shuddering. Obviously she could sense Izaya's criminal-like aura.

"...I'm an informant and I was asked by your family to bring you back home!" He chirped, at which she started to shake.

"I don't want to go back there..." She whispered.

"...You have no choice but to," Izaya started to say, but frowned.

"...Flea, you're heartless. Let me talk to her," Shizuo said before smiling. "...Ignore the flea over there. I'm Shizuo. The stupid flea is a criminal who will probably use you like a tool."

"Shizu-chan, that's not very nice!" Izaya protested. "You're just being mean to me for no good reason..."

"In your case, flea, you deserve it," Shizuo said.

"I don't want to go back there...everyone was just pretending to be happy..."

"Ah, but humans all lie, Akane-chan," Izaya said darkly. "Why, I lie, too. Everyone lies to one another. That's the way of this world. Also, you do know you're not the only one who ran away to survive, right? I did the exact same thing..."

"What's your name? Why does he call you a flea?"

"My name is Izaya Orihara; I inform people of things, so your father contacted me and had me look for you. So you could go home. I ran away from home as well, but just so you know, you're not exactly in a position where you can run away, Akane-chan," Izaya said cheerfully.

"...Flea...you're being an ass," Shizuo said.

"Your point being?" Izaya said cheerfully, which ticked Shizuo off more than anything.

"You bastard, she's a child, you should at least tell lies...no, never mind, forget it."

"Good, I'm glad you remembered," Izaya said darkly.


	23. Chapter 23 Izaya's flashback

**A/N:This chappie is concerned with how Izaya met Shizuo and how the Wizarding World dealt with Harry's disappearance. Prepare to see a little bit of Rita Skeeter in this chapter, along with some stupid Ron appearances, along with maniacal Izaya! Prepare yourself, today this and Kyouko Sakura and Alchemist's reincarnation shall be updated! It's going to be tough going! Oh, and you know...how Izaya does things even when you tell him not to? That's partly inspired from me...because I sort of love doing things to piss people off when they tell me not to. I am an Aspie, so I wonder if Izaya is as well...because he doesn't seem to understand emotions that well and he's very logical and cold facts matter to him more than feelings. Don't worry, I'm not a psychopath. O.O I hope not...**

* * *

**Chapter 23 Izaya's flashback**

* * *

"Don't you remember how we first met, Shizu-chan?" Izaya asked his number one rival, Shizuo Heiwajima, as the latter was walking beside him, swinging a telephone pole at his worst enemy, who dodged with childish glee as he smirked, waiting for a response.

"Yup...it was on a sunny day like this that you showed up and ruined my life, flea!" Shizuo cried, swinging the pole again, and whacking Izaya's arm.

"...I still remember it...you gave me a dozen bruises..." Izaya said nostalgically.

"Yeah...I'm about to give you a dozen more!" Shizuo cried.

"Ah..." Izaya said reminiscently. "I do remember it..."

_-Seven years ago...-_

* * *

_And the Wizarding World is concerned, because as it turns out...well, first, this is Rita Skeeter, reporting live from the Daily Prophet. It appears that young Harry Potter, star celebrity of the Wizarding World, our savior, the Boy-Who-Lived, and the Golden Boy of Gryffindor, has mysteriously disappeared from Hogwarts. This is a great tragedy. The young boy who was supposed to save us all is now gone. No one knows where the boy is. The last anyone heard or saw of him, he was recovering from a head injury acquired from one of his best friends. Apparently, he and one Mr. Ronald Bilius Weasley were having an argument over something trivial, and apparently Mr. Potter unfortunately took things the wrong way and snapped, trying to hurt his best friend. His best friend hit him hard, knocking him out. _

_Mr. Ronald Weasley claims it was in self-defense._

_"Bloody git came at me, what the hell was I supposed to do?" He says. "I'm really worried. I think maybe something bad might have happened because of my actions..."_

_"Bad is an understatement, Mr. Weasley! Haven't you realized what your actions have done? Because of you, the Wizarding World will go to ruin if Harry Potter isn't there to save it."_

_"Save? Tch...don't get me wrong, but I think...personally, I think the idea of him saving our world makes me sick."_

_"This is a surprise. Why would you say that?" _

_"Because...haven't you seen his disgusting, arrogant attitude?"_

_"This is news! Go on, tell me more!"_

_And so, Mr. Ronald Weasley told me how he had befriended young Harry Potter when he was just a lonely, sad orphan. _

_"He had nobody before he met me. I was his first friend, apparently. His aunt and uncle bullied him because he was so ungrateful for them providing a roof over his head."_

_"That's just shocking! What kind of wizard would place a boy into a home like that? Tell me something there, Mr. Ronald Weasley: do you agree with those methods?"_

_"Um...I...I, uh...he was a filthy git, anyway."_

_"How long has the poor dear been missing for?"_

_"About two years. I'm sixteen years old and entering my sixth year here. If Harry were here with us, he would've been in the sixth year."_

_"What kind of person was Harry Potter?" _

_"Arrogant...rude...a brat...he always thought everything should go his way and when it didn't, he'd throw temper tantrums."_

_"I see...and that must be really, really, hard for you to deal with. How difficult was it?" I ask, more intrigued than ever in getting the answers from this boy. _

_"Difficult is an __**understatement. **__I could never deal with it because my own damned mother was always paying attention to Harry Potter before anything else. I didn't even exist in her eyes because of that stupid idiot. That stupid idiot always comes first before everything else."_

_This is quite a harrowing story, isn't it? The young boy, Harry Potter, the Wizarding World's savior...is it possible that he's really not the savior we think he is and that he's really just a selfish coward? _

_"I'll say he's a coward. He ran away from us when we provided him food, clothes, shelter...we gave him a home and a purpose and all he did was run away. Filthy git."_

_"Yes, I needed to go sharpen my Quick-Quotes-Quill because half of what you told me makes no sense, but it's also very, very interesting. Please, do go on. Tell me." _

_And so, Ronald Weasley told me all about his adventures with Harry Potter and about how exhausting it was to have to deal with a boy who was so arrogant. It seems, ladies and gentlemen, that we're actually starting to understand part of what made Harry Potter the jackass that he was. Despite the love and friendship given to him by Hogwarts, by Gryffindor classmates, by Hogwarts staff and teachers, despite all of that, he abandoned them all. He abandoned us. _

_He left us all to die. I don't know what to say, audience...honestly, I don't. There are still plenty of search parties looking for the poor boy. _

_It's very very upsetting, you know. We didn't have too many people come and talk. We had Miss Hermione Granger come up and talk. Miss Granger seemed very distraught about her missing boyfriend. _

_"So what do you say, Miss Granger? Do you believe that he's dead?" _

_"He must be, because he wouldn't go out and live as a Muggle. He wouldn't do anything of that sort. He must be dead. Voldemort must have killed him." _

_"Now we don't know that for sure, Miss Granger. We will continue looking."_

_We also spoke to Albus Dumbledore, the crazy head of the school. _

_"Now, Harry had a huge destiny on his shoulders. He must return to fulfill his destiny as the hero of the Wizarding World."_

_"That's true. It has been so long ago since he left. If you had anything to say to Mr. Potter if you met him again, what would you say?"_

_"I would tell him that he has to return to Hogwarts and fulfill his destiny-"_

_"Definitely. I mean, what kind of coward would he be to go and ditch all the people that are counting on him more than anything else? Wherever you are, Harry Potter, I hope you are reading this, and I hope you regret this, because there are people that care about you more than anything else. They want you back. We need you as a society. There's no one else who can protect our society except you. This is Rita Skeeter, reporting from the Daily Prophet. There is a wanted notice for anyone who finds Harry Potter. He might be suffering from a head injury and he has green eyes and a curse scar and glasses." _

* * *

"That's just _too_ amusing."

A young boy was reading the newspaper on his way to a high school in Japan. He stared at the article with vague amusement on his face; his crimson eyes glinting in excitement.

"I can't believe this...honestly, those fools are still looking for the boy they'll never catch. They honestly think I'd return to see them and become their slave once more? They're so fucking stupid it never ceases to amuse me..." He chuckled.

This boy was now Orihara Izaya, but once upon a time, he had been Harry Potter before he had run away to Japan, cast off his magic and changed his appearance and name. As of right now, he was wearing red contacts. His hair had grown long enough to cover his scars and his accent was quickly fading. In the two years it had taken him to learn Japanese, he had mastered it pretty fast.

He still sounded somewhat foreign, but even his English, which he still used, was starting to sound more like a foreigner trying to speak English. He still tried hard not to use British slang. Even his best friend Shinra thought he was a foreigner...and his little sisters also thought he was a stranger.

Oh, well. His scar still ached from time to time, but he ignored it. For now, Orihara Izaya had become what you would call a sociopath, but he was now living in Ikebukuro, Japan, and he had never been happier in his life. No annoying Ron or Hermione telling him what to do, no stupid Dumbledore putting him down for everything he did; he was his own boss now and he couldn't be happier.

"These fools...are just too amusing." He said before ripping part of the newspaper up.

"Izaya, what are you reading?" Came the voice of one Shinra Kishitani, Izaya's best friend.

'_Oh crap. I can't let him see this.' _

"Ah, nothing in particular, Shinra."

"Why are you hiding it from me? Are you secretly a nerd?" Shinra asked curiously.

"Not exactly, Shinra."

"Tell me, what are you hiding? The Daily Prophet...is that some sort of science fiction magazine?"

"Yep, Shinra. They're people that write about science fiction." Izaya lied.

"I didn't know you were an otaku."

"Shut up about it, okay? It wouldn't be cool for a person like me to be caught reading stuff like this..." Izaya trailed off.

"You're friends with me and you say stuff like that...oh, and by the way, there's a person I'd like you to meet. I've been friends with him before I met you. Izaya, you mind telling me what you were doing before you came here to Japan?"

"That's none of your business, Shinra." Izaya said quickly.

"I know you'll tell me sometime, but...not right now, huh?"

"Nope."

"This friend of mine...he really needs friends..."

"Hmm...friend is sort of a foolish term, don't you think?"

"Why would you say that, Izaya?"

"Well, think about it...human beings really do use each other all the time. They don't really think about others...they only think about themselves." Izaya quipped.

"You do have a point. Still, Izaya, can't you be a little more positive?"

"Whatever...I don't believe in bullshit like that. Friends just sort of drag you down."

"Does that mean you see _me _as that?"

"Of course not..."

"Well, his name is Shizuo. He's got a bit of a problem with his temper, but overall he's a nice guy. Just try not to piss him off, though..."

"It sounds fun. I'd love to piss him off..."

"Izaya, what I'm telling you is _no, _you can't piss him off. It's bad."

"Heh heh, who knows...it could be fun," Izaya snarked.

"Izaya, what I'm telling you is be nice..."

"You know, Shinra...it is hard for me to be naively nice."

"I know, but can you at least try to act like a normal human being?"

"Shinra, didn't we both become friends because we're both so abnormal? Fine...just for your sake, I'll try. But I didn't say I wouldn't play around with him first."

"Izaya..." Shinra sighed.

* * *

Izaya saw himself looking at a man with blond hair and sunglasses.

"This is Shizuo Heiwajima. Say hello..."

"Nice to meet you," Izaya said, "Is your hair dyed?"

The other boy didn't say anything for a moment, then he snapped, "Yes, it is dyed. Why do you ask?"

"It just looks so weird and...are you a bartender? That's so _strange..." _Izaya taunted.

"_Izaya, _what have I told you? This is my friend, Izaya Orihara."

"He looks more like a flea to me."

"A flea? Don't think the flea market is open now..." Izaya deadpanned.

"No, I mean you do."

"I heard what you said, and I'm sort of offended, what was your name again...Shizuo...?"

"Shizuo, yes," Shizuo cut in in irritation.

"...Shizu-chan!"

"I'm not a girl!"

"Hmm..but I'll call you Shizu-chan...or maybe Shizu-kun would do-"

"That sounds better..." Shizuo trailed off.

"But I like _Shizu-chan _more!"

"You piss me off!"

Immediately, Izaya grinned as Shizuo picked up half of the tennis court and launched it at Izaya.

"My, you've got amazing strength, Shizu-chan. You really are unnatural. How fascinating!"

"Izaya, what have I told you about doing this-"

"To do it all I want?"

Leave it to Izaya to completely overlook what you were trying to tell him. It was so aggravating.

"Izaya..."

"My, that was so fun, Shinra..." Izaya said to himself.

While Izaya was sitting in class, his scar suddenly started to burn.

"Izaya, are you okay?" Shinra asked.

"It's nothing, Shinra." Izaya said. "My head just hurts a little bit."

"Is it a headache?"

"Don't touch it."

"Hey, Izaya...I don't know why you're so sensitive about your head..."

Izaya lay in the boy's bathroom, trying hard not to puke. That evening, he received a call from one of his business people, wanting him to do a job. Sure enough, it was a kidnapping thing.

* * *

"Are you here to rescue me?" The woman said. "See, I have a husband who ran off and left me alone raising two children, and I...want you to help me look after them."

"I didn't come here to rescue you..." Izaya said, taking his knife and licking it.

"What are you saying?"

"Well, you see...I despise humans like you...so you're going to stay here and be a good little hostage or else I'll have no choice but to hurt you..."

"Please, spare me..." She whined, and for a split second, Izaya was reminded of his mother. But instead, that turned into murderous rage.

"What did I say about causing a fuss?" He said as he stabbed the woman's hand, causing her to scream in pain. "You know, I don't think you really need your arm..." He then took the knife and cut her head a little. Blood dripped on his fingers as the young man stood there, laughing hysterically.

"This is certainly entertaining!"

The rest of the hostages looked at him in terror. A young thief who was there looked at him in fear.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Hmm...haven't you heard of me? I'm the infamous informant, Izaya Orihara-"

"Oh my god, you're that informant that's terrifying. You're a psychopath!"

"Hmm...but aren't most criminals psycho?"

The criminal fled, fearing for his life.

"Izaya, what'd you do?" Shinra said, noticing the blood on his friend's face and fingers. "Did you...?"

"I was working as an informant again, Shinra. I had a job and someone pissed me off, so I...stabbed them..."

"Killing's not right..."

"It makes me relieve my boredom, so I don't really mind it, Shinra."

Shinra shuddered at the monster lurking inside his best friend, but otherwise said nothing.

"Do you remember that?" Izaya asked.

"Yup...I remember the first time I knocked out one of your teeth...flea, that was funny..."

"Not to me..." Izaya muttered.


	24. Chapter 24 Collapsing Reality

**A/N:Inspiration has struck me yet again! Wow, is this one my brain child or what? I'll say it is. Alchemist's reincarnation will prove to be a steady one. :D Reading A squib's path to revenge right now; a lovely little fic written by the great author who wrote Soul Within. :D One needs a steady diet of dark!fics to keep going on the path of darkness. Shizaya FTW! XD So be prepared for Izaya to sort of fall apart in today's chapter. Shizaya warning! MONSTER CHAPTER AHEAD!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four Collapsing Reality**

**-Nine years earlier, from the memories of the Yakuza who made Izaya one of them and of Shiki's memories of Izaya-**

* * *

"Can you help me figure out how I can become stronger?"

The professional yakuza took one look at the boy in front of him and burst out laughing. The boy was skinny and weak-looking, with dark hair that fell in his face and was shaggy and needed a cut. His green eyes were full of malice, but this boy was just a kid. There was no way a kid could do anything for them; he would probably rat them out to the authorities, sooner or later.

"So, kid, you carrying this joke a little too far now?"

The boy silenced him with a glare. "I'm a runaway," He began slowly, definitely with a British accent, not Japanese. "I need your help," He continued, in bad Japanese, "Can you...give me a job?"

"A job, kid? What for?"

"I'm running away from...people. From society," The boy said. "Society has betrayed me and I hate humans. I hate them so much I want to punish them for what they did to me." He said, his green eyes full of hatred and anger.

Just the things needed for a perfect criminal. The man looking at him had to shiver a little at the bloodthirst in those eyes. Yes, this boy was a criminal waiting to be unleashed. "You sure you'd be able to handle these jobs, kid? You would have to kill and get your hands dirtied with blood."

"I can handle that," The boy said confidently, though his voice was shaking a little. "I wanna get back at the people that betrayed me." He said, "And...if I do these jobs for you...if I get my hands soaked in blood...if I steal and kill and lie, will you help me?"

What a fascinating boy this boy was.

"What do you require?"

He stared at him. "I want to start over. I want your help. Help me change my appearance and my name. I'd be too valuable for you to lose. But if I get caught by them again, you can kill me."

"Hmm...you've got the right stuff for a criminal. What's your name?"

The boy paused. "Ha-Har-" He began. He was obviously English, but he paused, and then a wide evil smirk, not unlike that of some of the world's worst criminals appeared on his face. "My name...is...Izaya."

"Izaya, huh?" He said, figuring that that wasn't his real name, but deciding to go with it. "So, Izaya, welcome to the yakuza."

First they gave him relatively simple things, such as shoplifting, stealing things, stealing cars and minor crimes like assaulting people. Much to their surprise, they discovered the boy known as Izaya was very good at stealing from people without being caught. He was very lithe and it was easy for him to get away, but unfortunately, the boy was underdeveloped. He needed to develop his muscles so they trained him.

In exchange, they gave Izaya what he wanted. They let him pay for money to change his face, and in turn they helped him learn Japanese so he could communicate with the Japanese criminals of the underworld. A year passed and then another year.

By that time, the boy known as Izaya had become very well-known in the criminal underworld and even within the corporate one, as a ruthless boy who did whatever he could to gain power. Izaya had smuggled drugs, engaged in blackmailing, stolen money from banks, sold himself to other people, lied, swindled.

* * *

It was then that a man by the name of Shiki happened to notice the boy known as Izaya. Yes, it was the first time he'd seen the boy kill. He had heard rumors about a really young criminal killing people, but he didn't necessarily believe it. It took years for one to become a hardened criminal, not just like two years, unless you were some sort of genius. But the youth of today were...too wary of the mafia and of the Awakusu-kai. He needed someone...young, someone brilliant, someone who could easily win trust in the hearts of people...someone good at their job.

Half of the men he had were bumbling idiots. They wound up getting themselves caught in the process. He couldn't find a true criminal even if he looked for one. However, one day, he happened to hear about a case where there was an important man who was a noted enemy of the Awakusu-kai...who had been taken hostage.

Sure enough, he was being held hostage. Of course, Shiki came to see it. It was then and there that he met the boy, no, young man, soon to be known as Izaya Orihara, ruthless informant. But at that time, Izaya Orihara was just a genius criminal.

He remembered whenever he'd first seen the boy holding a bloodstained knife and then cackling maniacally while he tortured the man, oblivious to his screams for mercy. Any ordinary person would have shriveled in dismay upon seeing such a display, but to Shiki, seeing such bloodlust was exhilarating. There weren't many criminals out there who enjoyed doing what they did, and it was clear that this boy was nuts.

Then whenever the boy had run across Shiki, his face had completely changed from being manic to being completely and utterly calm. It was then, he realized, that he had a psychopath on his hands; a psychopath who was charming and polite and certainly knew how to suck up to his superiors, but the one thing he loved about the boy was his unpredictability.

"What's your name?"

"Izaya. But that's not my real name."

"What is your real name?"

"Uh, uh, don't tell me. You're probably the head of some mafia organization, aren't you? The rule of that is criminals lie all the time, so why should I tell you my real name unless you tell me yours-"

"You watch who you're talking to." Shiki said.

"Oh, I know perfectly well who I'm talking to. You're a member of the Awakusu-Kai, are you not?"

"Your accent...are you not from Japan?"

"Nope. I was born in England, but now I'm a Japanese, and of course I happen to specialize in the art of torturing humans. Torturing humans is rather like playing chess..." He said politely as he once again stuck his knife into the unfortunate man's arms and stabbed him with keen precision.

He picked up the knife and did it again. He watched in fascination as every single blow was dealt methodically, so the man's struggle would be as painful as possible. The way the boy did it, was so he would slowly but surely die; all the while spilling his secrets to the teenager and to Shiki. He was amazed at the boy's ruthlessness and at his sheer genius.

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen. Why? I'm sure you intend to use me in some way."

"Of course. That's what criminals do. How would you like to become an informant?"

The boy just looked at him for a few moments before an intrigued smirk crossed his face. "I might be willing to consider that, as long as I can use my fellow humans as much as I want. Anything would be preferrable!" He said as he licked his lips. This boy was a pure and utter sadist and to be honest his ruthlessness even struck some fear in the heart of Shiki, but he then watched as through the years the boy kept his promise and became an informant unlike any other.

He became the ruthless and methodical informant who used his pawns one after the other, and he gathered invaluable information for the Awakusu-kai. He watched as he disbanded the Yellow Scarves and Blue Squares with as much emotion as a toddler would when knocking over a stack of bricks. He watched as the man known as Izaya Orihara spread the passwords of the Dollars and later got some intel about who exactly was the leader of the Dollars.

Then again, Shiki had to say he wasn't exactly surprised to learn that the head of the Dollars was in fact a teenage boy; hadn't the leader of the Yellow Scarves also been a teenage boy who'd been led by Izaya?

Izaya Orihara was truly miraculous; truly amazing in how he was a criminal. The most ruthless criminals longed to be like him and then some knew that they couldn't be like him no matter how hard they tried, because their consciences got in the way. But Izaya Orihara had no need for a conscience. He was the perfect criminal and the perfect man to do business with.

Shiki would never dream of killing him; it was more because he was afraid the young man would kill him if he got the chance. Izaya trusted no one, and if you backstabbed him, he was one hundred percent sure that Izaya would not only kill that person, but kill them in such a way that they would not be recognized. He did all the dirty deeds himself and he enjoyed every single one of them.

Normal people would go around saying what a sick, twisted psychopath Izaya was, but Shiki got a big kick out of it all. It was then that he discovered some of the boy's secrets. The boy had always complained of having headaches and apparently there was a scar on his head that needed to be fixed up because he was missing, apparently, otherwise 'they' would discover his whereabouts.

So he got surgery for the boy and got him contacts to change his eye color. He did look much better with red eyes; and it was a great intimidation tactic.

Then his phone rang.

* * *

"I've got Akane-chan for you, Shiki-san, you happy~?" The same familiar cheery voice he knew so well said.

"Of course I'm happy," Shiki said, "I'm always happy when you call, Izaya."

"Oh, that's good, because Dota-chin and the others...they all call me such _awful names!"_

"Akane-chan is over there with you?"

"Yep! She is, along with Shizu-chan!"

Even he had heard of Shizuo Heiwajima. What on earth was Shizuo Heiwajima doing in Izaya Orihara's apartment? Weren't the two of them enemies? Hm...it looked like there was some more work to be done on Izaya. What secrets was the man hiding...he was so good at covering his tracks; well, that was part of being a criminal; in order to track other criminals, you had to do twice the work you normally would on an ordinary person.

Izaya was careful enough to erase his internet history; he almost always erased his data and went under anonymous proxies so he could gather as much information as he could without the government ever hoping to catch his identity.

"All right, bring her over. We'll be happy to see her. Her family's been very worried about her." The young child would also make for a good bargaining tool, he thought.

"Will she have to be a bargaining tool?" Izaya said bluntly, as though reading his mind.

"She's standing right near you, isn't she?" Shiki said bluntly, too.

"Yep, why? You think I shouldn't be traumatizing a child?"

'I have a feeling you'd do more than that,' He thought. Nonetheless, he smirked as he shut the phone.

"Akane-chan is back," He said to Akane's mother and father. Akane's mother had cried for a while and her father was impassive, but you could tell that he was happy.

"Who found her?" She said.

"Izaya Orihara."

Instantly, the reaction was priceless. The mother's jaw dropped open, her eyes wide, frozen in fear, and even the father's fists tightened slightly.

"Izaya Orihara, huh? I've heard all sorts of nasty rumors about him. Isn't he a psychopath?"

"Yep," Shiki said dryly.

"And you're letting him look after our daughter. What if he hurts her?" She said coldly.

"He has a soft spot for children. He has two little sisters and he's never hurt them before." Shiki said.

"How do you know all this?"

"Because...Izaya-san is my protegé. I taught him everything I know about being a criminal. Therefore, I know him better than anyone else and I know exactly what makes him tick."

* * *

"Well, Akane-chan, take care," Izaya said dryly as her parents showed up and glared at Izaya.

"My, my, I'm afraid we must have gotten off to a bad start! I'm Izaya-"

"I know exactly who you are," The mother spat, "I hope you didn't lay a finger on Akane-chan. You didn't abuse her or molest her, did you?"

"Don't be so vulgar. I'd never lay a hand on a child like that. That'd be low even for me. Whenever I do find girls I want to bed, I at least make sure they're at the age of consent, you see." He said darkly.

"Izaya-san's a good person!" Akane chirped, but it turns out this was the wrong thing to say.

"Akane, you are never going to see this person again!"

Her eyes widened then as she saw _Shizuo _standing behind Izaya.

"Surely we can come see her, if that's not a problem with you," Shizuo said, pounding his fists together.

Instantly, the mother paled. "Sure...no problem," She whimpered, not at all eager to have the Monster of Ikebukuro be her enemy.

"Well, Shizu-chan, your intimidation tactics are still good, just like my own..." Izaya purred.

"Flea, you shouldn't say that with a happy face. Why are you letting that girl go back to that place? She's just going to be used like you were." He said, once they were back in the office and sound-proofed.

"Hey, at least she's treated with some semblance of love," Izaya said, "I never was, so I have no idea what love is. Love, to me, is just using someone else."

"Flea, you make me sick," Shizuo said.

"Anyway, don't you have to go see your little brother? He is in town..."

"Yeah, you're right." Shizuo said, "I'll meet you later in Ikebukuro and then we're fighting to the death! Next time, don't go spilling your secrets!"

"I'll look forward to it, Shizu-chann!" Izaya said, waving his hands sarcastically as the door slammed shut.

"Oh, Shizu-chan, you made me have no choice," Izaya said in delight as he whipped open his cell phone and texted a familiar number, only to receive no response. Blinking in surprise, he realized Hermione had changed her number. 'Smart thinking, Hermione...but nothing that can't be garnered from a few Internet searches,' He thought as he turned on his computer.

His eyes widened as a copy of the Daily Prophet landed in his hands, from Fred and George's owl.

"Apparently Severus Snape has been executed by Dementors," He read, and then burst out laughing. "So someone else will go to the grave with my secrets! Well, that's pleasing news; the man made my life hell for years, after all! Why am I supposed to feel bad about him dying?" Izaya said before doing a little dance. He picked up Celty's head off its shelf.

"You know, if there's one thing Shizu-chan overlooked, it's that I hold his precious Celty's head...not even he's aware of _that." _He mumbled.

"Shizu-chan really was unobservant. I'm sure if he had seen that I have her head, he would have pounded me into next week. That's good, because as long as he doesn't know about it, I can keep using him. The second he knows, he's going to kill me, which I look forward to. This is indeed a glorious day~!" He said. Namie was out for the day, busy looking after Seiji since he was sick.

Unknowing to him, Hermione had not changed her number willingly.

* * *

Ron was standing over her, her phone ripped in half. "You will never talk on these Muggle devices ever again, got it?" He growled.

"Ron, I'm not your tool-"

"You're my wife! You're supposed to do as I say and that means you live with the wizards and you don't ever come into contact with the Muggles! Ever!" He screamed, his face beet-red. "And unlike last time, I let you get away, but this time...I don't think I'm going to let you get away with doing what you did to me..."

Just as he hit Hermione in the face, the door banged open and Molly came in. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in a crying Hermione, with an already forming slap on her cheek.

"Mum, this isn't what it looks like-" He said.

Molly's eyes narrowed. "Ronald Bilius Weasley, what have you been doing?" She said icily.

"Is this what you've been doing to Hermione? I thought something funny was going on. And now you're mistreating your own wife. Haven't I taught you better?"

Ron flinched, clearly not used to his mother's rage. "But you know...she is less than me. She's a witch, I'm a wizard, I'm supposed to have dominion over her!"

"Who taught you that bunch of nonsense?" She said, "Now you sound like the Malfoys. Hermione doesn't belong to you, nor does she belong to anyone. She's a fellow wizard, therefore you must respect her rights. I can't believe this. I honestly can believe that you've been abusing your own wife behind our backs. Arthur will hear about this...Needless to say, your father will be very ashamed."

"You don't have say in my life anymore!"

"You know, if Harry were alive today, I wonder what he would say if he saw you do this." Molly spat.

Hermione froze, as an image of a laughing Izaya came into her mind. 'He'd probably laugh his ass off at this scene.' "But Harry isn't-"

"Here anymore, therefore he's not important," Ron said.

"Hermione, dear are you all right?" Molly asked as Ron left in a fit of anger.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley. I never knew he could do this to me."

"I never knew I could have raised a son who would become an abuser. I mean, beating up a Muggle is fine if they're attacking you; it's one thing but it doesn't seem good to go around harassing wizards for no good reason."

"Mrs. Weasley?"

"Yes?"

"What do you think...of what we did to Harry?"

Molly's face turned stony. "Well, he broke Ginny's heart, dear. We did all we could, but he wouldn't come back. What can be said about it? You know he's dead-"

"What if he isn't dead?"

"Dear, you know as well as I do that no wizard can survive without their wand. It's like a part of them; otherwise their soul will die. He got what he deserved, so keep away from the Muggles. Ron has a point; I'll just have to discipline him some more to make him a better husband to you."

Hermione smiled, grateful at least that someone had shown her some form of humanity, though inside her mind was reeling at the inhumanity of the world she'd been in for so long. 'Someone get me out of here!' She thought.

* * *

Later that night, at Russia Sushi

"So that's what happened, huh?" Izaya said as Fred and George were with him at Russia Sushi.

"Yup, Mum went and stopped Ron from beating up on Hermione."

"That's good, I suppose." Izaya said dully.

"You _suppose?" _Fred said skeptically, looking at his friend as though he were an alien from outer space.

"Well...I don't really care about what happens to her. I am glad she's sorry over what she did; but maybe this is what she deserves for using me..." He said darkly.

"What happened to your heart, man?" They said in disgust. "You know, Izaya, we kind of thought you were a cool guy before, but...now with your lack of empathy about what happened to Hermione and what you did to her, you know we'll still keep your secrets and stuff, but I don't think we want to associate with you anymore."

"_What?" _Izaya said, clearly shocked by this and hurt. "W-What...but I thought you were just fine...with me the way I am now..." He stammered.

"You've...crossed the line this time." Fred and George said as they walked out, oblivious to Izaya's calls for them to come back.

"So, someone else figured out your despicable lies, Izaya?" Kida said as he came over and glared at Izaya.

"That was no one in particular, Kida-kun. Not anyone you need to associate with," Izaya said lightly. "So how's life treating you?"

"Pretty well. Saki's been asking about you," He said, repeating the same question Izaya had thrown at him a while ago. "She's been asking me why she has to be kept up in that hospital all this time and why you're not paying her your visits...so she's _not your little tool anymore."_

"I see..." Izaya said, though inwardly, he felt panic rise up in him. His game...his game wasn't supposed to be like this! Everything was supposed to be neat and orderly, so why was it suddenly falling apart like this?

"So, Izaya, suddenly experiencing human emotions for the first time?" Kida said, "I'm sure it's a shock, isn't it?" He just glared coldly at him, but he wasn't expecting Izaya to glare at him fiercely.

"Oh, good old Kida-kun...do me a favor and-"

"Go away? So that way you can be by yourself, you coward? _Not a chance. _I figured it's about time everyone knows about your hypocrisy. What, look at the way you use others. What are you gonna tell me to defend yourself with as to why you act this way; that you were _abused? _I couldn't believe such a story even if I heard it myself."

"_Shut the fuck up." _

His voice was so icy, so cold that Masaomi was taken aback for a moment. He remembered just why he was always afraid of Izaya, but whenever he was, it was a terrifying sight to behold. His red eyes were full of barely concealed rage and his fists were tightened.

"Kida-kun, don't ever say stuff like that to me again. Don't talk about abuse like it's some sort of joke-"

"What? _Everything_ in this entire world, to you, is nothing but a _joke. _That's how you see life, Izaya. I'm not gonna fall for your bullshit anymore. Face it, Saki's not your pawn anymore and nothing will go your way anymore. Face it, once people see past your smiling faces and your 'kindly' aura, at heart they'll realize that you're just a _monster." _

"Haha..."

He paused as he realized Izaya was...Izaya was..._laughing. _

"So this is _your _idea of a game, Kida-kun? It's good...very good..." Izaya said.

"Kida-kun, you no start fights. This is a restaurant." Simon intervened, but even he paused as Izaya burst out laughing in maniacal laughter, a laugh that sent chills down Kida's spine.

"So this is the way you finish, huh...Kida?" He said, holding his stomach. "Well, this is certainly..._welcoming news..." He _said, but somehow Kida could tell his smile was faltering...faltering...what the hell?

"You're amused by this, huh?"

"Well, I'm certainly amused that you, my little pawn, have moved in a different way than I imagined. But not to worry, I'll surely regain control over you!" He said before flashing the same twisted smile.

"Oh, and Izaya, I heard about you sending that little girl back to be with her relatives...the ones that are in the Mafia...the ones that abuse her. So you really don't have a heart, huh?"

"Kida-kun, look at this," Izaya said quickly before waving his hand in front of him.

"I'm not falling for any more of your tricks!" Kida spat.

His eyes widened. He couldn't believe it. First, Hermione was no longer his pawn, then Fred and George were cutting their ties to him, and now Saki and Kida...it felt like he was slipping, closer and closer, to the breaking point. 'I've already been broken too many times in my life,' He thought, 'I can't lose Kida. He's an important pawn.'

'**What, maybe on some level, you've started to care about him?' **His conscience taunted.

'No, of course not. Humans are just my tools, and nothing more,' He responded back in his mind.

"I'll never forget..." He began slowly, as Kida was walking away with Mikado beside him, "I'll never forget the pain in my arm...whenever a dog bit me. I'll never forget that searing pain as I lay there, screaming and wailing...and I will not forget how my cousin stood across from me, laughing hysterically; inciting the dog to keep on attacking me, despite how many times I asked him to stop, he wouldn't until half of my arm was nearly severed..."

He continued, in a tone that only Mikado and Masaomi could hear, "Oh, and then I was beaten heavily, just like usual. I could be beaten when I failed to prepare breakfast properly. That mark on my arm is from that dog...Kida-kun."

Kida's eyes were wide in shock. "Izaya, this is a pretty despicable lie."

"Nope~, it's not, it's the truth~. You wanna know where my home was? My home was a little room...I was locked in a little closet, all day long...regardless of whether I'd done anything to deserve it or not, and I was only let out at certain times, never shown any signs of love or affection..._how do you think sociopaths are born, Kida-kun? They're born whenever a person has no sense of love and everything they thought they knew was enveloped in lies; once they discover the world is full of lies, they can't stand it anymore and break apart. Then they decide to become like the very darkness that surrounds them. So don't you dare talk like I don't know what it's like to be abused, because I was for years, and that's what made me into the warped person that I am today. And I don't deserve your pity, either. _I'm not a monster, either. So next time, just keep your fat mouth shut."

"Or else, what, Izaya? You're just lying again."

"Nope~. I'm telling the truth this time, but it's pointless to tell you, because...what's the point? Oh, Kida-kun, I've always been used to being alone...not being trusted by anyone..."

Kida was staring at him with wide eyes, but Mikado was also staring at him with wide eyes. Mikado was also surprised at how his hated enemy had shown more humanity than he'd even thought him capable of, and in the end, he thought, he and Izaya weren't all that different.

Was it just him...or did Izaya look...resentful? No; angry, yes, but he looked more...wretched. It was then and there that Mikado figured out exactly what Izaya _was. _He was a twisted, misshapen form of a human; a person that had once been human but had been so broken beyond belief that the form they took now was not the form of a human, but a broken..._child. _

It made sense with how he acted; how he acted like life was one big game to him, how he toyed with others. Everything made sense now. He may not know the full story; hell, he may not even like the guy, but seeing as him as he was now was indeed a pity to see. Even Mikado knew that his sworn enemy Izaya had his human side. How could he not have seen it? But Kida...foolish Kida, was sort of doing what he wished he wouldn't do, which was twist the knife in deeper.

"Kida, let's go," Mikado said, in his cold voice.

"But, surely...don't you want to get revenge on Izaya?" Kida stammered.

"_No," _Mikado said frostily, "Like I said before, Kida, let's go. I'm not in the mood for fooling around with my enemy, much less someone as..." He left his sentence unfinished then as Kida walked out, but Mikado cast him a look of..._sympathy _and pity. Something that surprised and angered Izaya.

"Izaya, you okay?" Simon asked, but he looked sort of disgusted. "Is it true, what Kida-kun told me about you? You've just been using other people?"

"I thought you knew that all along," Izaya said, but he tried hard to sound cheerful but in the end he failed.

"So you've been unravelled...I've always known how pitiful you are, but I guess this takes it to a new level. No sushi for you, Izaya. You can go on home. We don't serve people like you here."

"What?" Izaya said, "Simon...it was just a misunderstanding..."

"Izaya, I don't really like people like you. You think you can rule the world and everyone in it."

* * *

Shocked and confused, Izaya walked out, feeling like he was in a bad dream. It was just like before at Hogwarts; just like how people called him the Heir of Slytherin, told him that he was a demon, a freak, or whatever words it was that his deceased aunt and uncle had called him.

**(A/N:I highly advise playing the song Crawling by Linkin Park while reading this part. It fits very well. :d)**

Izaya wandered out, in a daze. He spotted Kadota and his group. He waved, but Dota-chin didn't wave back. He could only smile a little bit. In the end, all he could feel was anger at himself...and oddly enough he felt as though he could cry, but he wouldn't. Psychopaths like him didn't need to cry.

He was no longer that whiny, wimpy boy. He saw Mikado leaving. Mikado gave him a furtive glance again, of pity, which pissed Izaya off.

Celty sped by him. Celty was surprised when Izaya didn't smile and greet her or do anything; instead he just strode past her, looking like he was determined to disappear. She came to a stop on her motorbike and turned back.

'Izaya,' She typed, 'Are you all right?'

"Go away," He said softly.

'Are you sure you don't want to see Shinra?' She typed. She couldn't see Izaya's face under his hood, but she knew he could read what she was writing.

She wondered if there was a reason he was hiding his face. She got a strange sensation from her vapors toward Izaya. 'Izaya, are you...? Are you...okay? Are you...?' She typed.

He slapped her hand away. "Screw off, Celty. I hate humans, _I really hate them," _He spat as he skulked off, leaving a truly bewildered and concerned Celty.

He just needed to be alone right now. Maybe if he was alone, maybe everything would go back to normal, the way it was supposed to be...maybe...Kida wouldn't hate him so much...

It was then that he heard a sign being thrown in his direction. He allowed himself to smile, a weak, vapid one. "Oh...Shizu-chan." He muttered.

"IZAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Shizuo cried, by now back to the typical 'let's kill Izaya' mood.

"So you want to kill me, too," Izaya muttered before putting his hands in his pockets and starting to walk away.

"Izaya, no running away! We're going to fight our game to the death today! Izaya, look at me!" Shizuo said before pulling his hood down, and then gasped, which just made Izaya more pissed off.

"Flea, what the fuck's wrong with you? You're...you're..." Shizuo said, at a loss for words.

"Yes, I'm perfectly aware of the fact that I'm..._crying," _He said, trying to wipe the tears away because he was not supposed to cry.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Shizuo said.

"You should know, Shizu-chan...you know, for the first time in a long while, it's just as I thought, Shizu-chan, everyone in this world hates me and you hate me, too...so..."

"I don't hate you, flea!" Shizuo said.

"That's surprising." Izaya said with a dry chuckle, "I think I'll leave Ikebukuro..._and never come back."_

"Flea, you can't leave Ikebukuro!" Shizuo said.

"I'm going to..." He whispered. "Besides, isn't this what you've wanted from the start? You're just getting your wish, Shizu-chan. No one cares, and no one has ever cared about me. It'd be..._pointless _to stick around any longer."

Then Shizuo did something Izaya wasn't expecting him to do; he hugged Izaya...


	25. Picking up pieces of a broken mind

A/N:Time for a new chapter for this story! I'm so glad this story is so popular! I love it as much as I do my other stories...honestly this might be my longest running fic...Well, I know how you guys want me to not have such long A/Ns so I'll end by saying: Izaya will not be the tortured soul that relies on Shizuo entirely, don't forget Izaya is a Badass Normal who, even though emotionally broken at the moment, is actually a very strong individual who is not and will never be a sissy...he will never be a weak character. I'm glad you're all giving Izaya hugs! I am, too and I hate when people diss him without understanding his character!

"_**I did learn something about insanity while I was down there. People go crazy, not because they are crazy, but because it's the best available option at the time."**_

* * *

― _**Gabrielle Zevin, All These Things I've Done **_

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Five Picking up the pieces of a broken mind

Izaya looked at Shizuo with wide eyes...why the _hell_ had his worst enemy just hugged him? Was the world going insane or was he even more insane than he thought himself to be? He then felt Shizuo loosen his grip on him and then realized the wall behind him was now slightly cracked from the weight of Shizuo's fist. 'Oh crap...' He thought.

* * *

Shizuo was _not_ happy...

"Flea, what the hell are you doing to me? Stop acting like a wimp, start acting like the you I know so well! It's not the same when you're not smirking and acting like the irritating jerk I know you as!"

"S-Shizu-chan, is it not normal for me to act like the despicable humans I hate so much? Simon threw me out of Russia Sushi and no one will be my pawn anymore...what point is there in even being in Ikebukuro anymore? Everyone hates me, even you...Shizu-chan...admit it, you'd be glad if I died." He said, though he wasn't crying anymore, he was still extremely irritated with himself for humiliating himself in front of his mortal enemy, Shizu-chan.

'Dammit, what is it with me and being so open lately? I need to stop doing that...I'm the god who watches over these miserable humans...I can't let myself stoop to their level of idiocy!' He thought angrily, biting his lip. But Shizuo would not stop.

"Listen, flea! Stop letting people get to you like this! The Izaya I know doesn't act so down about others; he kicks their asses into next week and doesn't let anyone drag him down! How about what you told me you did to those assholes who screwed you up this bad? Didn't you tell me you wanted to kick their asses? Well, what you've done with your life has screwed them over, right? You've triumphed over them already, so why fall apart again when that'd be just giving in to your past? The past is _gone, _flea! Stop moping and get on with your life!"

"Ahaha...it figures, Shizu-chan would be so harsh and mean so well...I never knew you'd actually be kind to me without trying to kill me..." Izaya muttered.

"Flea, anyone who went through what you went through would lose their minds." Shizuo said softly.

"Hey, Shizu-chan...you remember that time Shinra decided to film everyone in his house, including the two of us?" Izaya asked.

Shizuo tilted his head slightly, and then his eyes widened. "Oh...yeah...flea...that was annoying.._.really_ annoying..."

_"Hello there! This is a recording I'm making so Celty and I will one day see this in the future so our children can see the love we had for each other! I'm your father, Shinra Kishitani, the son of the great and weird scientist Shingen Kishitani! This is my lovely wife, Celty Sturluson! She's a dullahan, which means she has no head, but she can still talk and I love her the way she is. _

_To tell you the truth, I have two friends who are every bit as weird as I am! And here he comes now, the weirdest boy I know, Izaya Orihara! I don't know too much about him, as I've only known him for a year. He won't say where he's from, but I think he's from England with his accent and all-"_

_"Excuse me, Shinra, but I'm __**standing right here, **__so please try not to gossip about me when I can hear every word you're saying right now." Izaya said, "And stop fooling around with that stupid recorder. Even Celty's annoyed by it." _

_Celty typed in something on her phone. 'For once, I agree with Izaya. Put the stupid thing away and stop recording us while we're trying to talk.'_

_"Uwah, everyone's against me! Why, Celty, why? Why would you betray me? We are lovers, aren't we?"_

_'Just because we're lovers doesn't mean you get to brag about my not having a head. It's embarrassing...' _

_Izaya tapped his foot impatiently, his gaze stuck on the latest article of the Daily Prophet he was currently engaged in. Apparently, the newspaper was still whining about him being missing...they still wanted him to come back and be their slave...too bad...oh, and there was something in there from Dumbledore..._

_"Izaya, you're reading that science fiction magazine again, aren't you? What's in it? Religious stuff..? I didn't think you were religious," Shinra said, sticking his nose close to what Izaya was doing, who jolted away in shock. _

_"S-S-Shinra, it's nothing in particular. I'm just reading this...and it's private. So please, stop snooping. For heaven's sake, I don't see you doing this to Shizu-chan..." _

_"Izaya, your Japanese is still bad. Not as bad as it was when we first met, but your accent is still strong...as I was saying, Izaya hasn't told me anything at all about his parents or his past or why he moved here all of a sudden. He's what you would call a sociopath; he has no feelings or empathy-"_

_"Pardon me, Shinra, but I don't feel comfortable having you trying to dissect all my secrets and keep them on this stupid recorder. So could you turn it off before I decide to take the recorder and shove it up your ass? You're not doing it to Shizu-chan..." Izaya groaned, glaring at Shinra in distaste. Didn't the man have any sense of privacy? _

_"Where is Shizuo? Oh, wait...he's in the bathroom! We've gotta go see how the strongest man in Raira Academy handles the toilet. Let's hope he doesn't destroy it...URGH!" _

_Suddenly, the recorder went flying as a hand gripped Shinra's shirt tightly. _

_"What the hell is wrong with you, Shinra? Why do you insist on recording me everywhere I go? I don't want to be seen on the fucking camera! I'm a monster for god's sake, and how many times have I told you, I hate having my picture taken, and also I hate even being in the same room with the flea!"_

_"You mad, Shizu-chan? Mad that your ugly mug isn't being plastered on the camera screen for all to see? I think you'd look hysterical on them, kuh kuh kuh. A _bloke _like Shizu-chan should..." _

_"What's a bloke, Izaya?" _

_Izaya paled slightly before clearing his throat. "I...slipped up. But that's all right. I'm fine, Shinra...now, can you please put away that stupid camera?" _

_"Everyone's against me, Shizuo! Put some reason into Izaya!" _

_"Shinra, I hate to agree with the flea...but your GODDAMNED CAMERA PISSES ME OFF!" _

_Then the next thing Shinra knew, his precious recorder was thrown and smashed by an infuriated Shizuo and then Izaya started to toy with him, throwing things at him and laughing maniacally while he did so. _

* * *

"Flea," Shizuo began, "That world...have those assholes tried to toy with you before?"

"...Just a man who was my teacher and a bully. He's dead now. I'm glad. Dead men tell no tales, after all..." Izaya muttered to himself before a wry smirk made its way on his face.

"I see...what was he like, flea-er, Izaya?"

"Yes, Shizu-channnn, what is it? Do you have something relevant to ask me...?" Izaya taunted, hoping fervently that his bait would work and provoke Shizu-chan like usual.

"Flea, don't divert my attention. I know you're not all right, no matter how much you smirk. You're broken, aren't you?"

Izaya blinked and then rubbed his eyes. "Who cares about that stuff? I'm perfectly all right, Shizu-channn! I feel better, thanks to you!"

"Izaya...I've known you as a rival long enough...long enough to know when you're lying. You always lie. But I didn't...understand...why...you did, until now. So now, I understand...you...better..." Shizuo puffed.

"Please don't smoke in here, Shizu-chan. It's unhealthy-"

"Like your stench is any better, flea!"

"How rude! I tell you, I bathe every day!" Izaya chirped.

"Hey," Shizuo said, "You _sure_ you're all right?" He looked at Izaya piercingly.

"...I'm fine," Izaya lied. Deep inside, he felt aggravated that Shizu-chan was seeing him in such a terrible state. But somehow, his frozen heart seemed to have melted a bit. Just a bit...

* * *

-Two weeks ago, In Azkaban Prison-

Severus Snape sat in Azkaban, biding his time. Surely they would let him out sooner or later. That old fool would surely see reason, sooner or later...he would surely not abandon him like this. The thing was, he knew full well that he was going to die, but the rational part of his mind was being bogged down by stupid reassurances his mind conjured, like surely they'll listen to me...

The sad truth was that Albus Dumbledore had long since left the thing called sanity behind and headed for the same path that his protegé himself had ended up on: insanity. To tell the truth, he was terrified of the warped, twisted human the man once known as Harry Potter had evolved into. It was what he was always afraid of, looking at those glowing green eyes...he had always been afraid the boy would be like James Potter, an arrogant blowhard who thought so highly of himself.

He had been foolish indeed. The boy may have once been sane in the head, but now...now he was so far off the deep end that it wasn't funny anymore, but saddening. He had taken a part in corrupting an innocent child and effectively created the next Dark Lord...though he doubted the boy would consider himself a Dark Lord. He was just a twisted person now.

He still couldn't help but shudder as he thought over the various times he had met the twisted adult Potter had grown into: there was the first time...on the rooftop of a building in Japan. Frowning, Severus wondered if he could somehow give his memories to someone and have that man stopped before it was too late. But he knew he had no privacy: the dementors surrounded him now.

He could recall seeing that boy laughing hysterically and at first, he had thought he'd run across some crazy Muggle and had been prepared to use his wand on him until he had detected a faint magical aura emanating from the boy. But whenever he had tried to pursue him, the boy had been most unpredictable.

As he thought over the person he hated the most, the images floated through his mind:

* * *

_Severus froze, wondering who this Muggle was who seemed incredibly demented, babbling on and on in a language he knew nothing of. Though he could have sworn he had heard 'Hari' and 'Potter' somewhere in the garble, the man just seemed like a lunatic. That is, until he actually called him by his name. _

_"Severus-kun...__**what brings you here?" **_

_"What?" He said, not understanding a word the man had said. The man turned around and stared at him, smirking darkly. This man gave off a dangerous aura; one quite like Voldemort's. Was this really the boy he sought? This young man, grinning darkly with crimson eyes and spiky black hair, was the Boy Who Lived? _

_"...Potter? Is it you?" _

_The man paused. "Sorry...I don't speak very good English, Severus-kun. I don't know who this Potter person is. You've mistaken me for someone else. __**Go away, Severus-kun no baka." **_

_Severus made to reach for the young man, but the young man cackled insanely as he jumped right off the roof before a shocked Severus's eyes, only to see him landing on the ground about ten feet below unscathed and running off at a casual pace, laughing madly. _

_"Potter!" He cried. The young man ignored him, reaching into his sleek jacket for something for a moment; he whipped out something shiny; a knife. He put it away and then whipped out a strange black device, which he started pressing for some reason and then put it to his ear and spoke, in a language he knew nothing of: _

_"__**Hello there, Dotachin! This is me, Izaya~! Oh, that's not very nice, Dotachin, after all I do for you, you address me like that? That hurts, Dotachin. I'm being stalked by some idiot now, so I want him to leave me alone! Oh, you hope he grinds my guts out? That's such a nasty thing to say, Dota-chin. I'm not a bad person! You're so funny! Tell Erika-chan I'll buy some BL novels for her later! ~Ja ne, Dota-chin!" **_

_'Is he talking to himself?' Severus thought, not knowing what to make of the man he thought was Potter speaking to himself (or a weird black thing) dementedly. _

_"Potter, stop it with the nonsense!" _

_But no matter what he said, Potter ignored him. Then he talked again, "__**Hi there, K-kun~I'm sure you know who this is! Such~ language! Ooh, is it true, then? That your best friend is coming into town soon? Oh, don't say such nasty things! It hurts me! Oh, you're no fun, K-kun. Bye, K1*. My love of anime comes in handy sometimes!" **_

But then the boy had just dismissed him as though he were nothing more than garbage in his eyes. Then he remembered one of the more...unsettling, to say the least, encounters he'd had with the boy.

* * *

_The next time he had met Orihara Izaya, the former 'hero' of the Wizarding World was busy conducting some business in an alleyway. Severus had to gape at what he saw. Potter was holding a man up against a wall, smiling cheerily. _

_"Do you have any new information yet? Shiki-san's becoming very impatient..." The boy said. _

_"N-No...please...let me go...I don't want to be used by someone as twisted as you! I don't have any more information!" _

_"Hmmm, so that's how it is then, huh? I guess you're useless, then. Bye bye!" Izaya chirped as he slit the man's throat and blood got on the informant's face and hands. Izaya blinked and stared at the man, gagging. _

_"This is what you get for being a brat!" He said as he kicked the man, laughing when he struggled for breath and then died. "Oh...how pointless. I'm going to have to wash myself off. Such a pity. I like this jacket. What are you doing here, Severus?" _

_Severus just stared with wide eyes. He couldn't believe that simpleton-that idiotic, stupidly naive, arrogant buffoon-could have just murdered someone in front of him. It was a stunning thing to behold how twisted Harry Potter was. _

_"..."_

_"You can leave now. I've no reason to see you, you know that, right? I thought Erika-chan and Walker-kun already gave you the message by breaking your arm." _

He just sat there, cursing Izaya Orihara, cursing Dumbledore for his stupidity in unleashing a monster, cursing James Potter...damn them all.

* * *

Miles away, Izaya spun around in his chair, laughing hysterically when he learned of the man's death. In his mind, such a man who bullied him should not be shown any empathy when he died.

* * *

Izaya wasn't expecting Shizuo to take him to his apartment, but he did. Izaya was both a little surprised and also suspicious. It was then that he noticed Kasuka was there, waiting for his brother.

"Nii-san, what is someone like him doing with you?"

"Oh, Kasuka. You're back. And don't insult him; only I can do that. The flea stays for now."

"Oh, you're Kasuka Heiwajima, the famous actor! I'm so glad to finally meet you! I'm-"

"I know full well who you are. You're an arrogant psychopath who troubles Nii-san and hurts others." Kasuka said in boredom.

"My, you have _such_ a vast _array_ of emotions!" Izaya snarked.

"Nii-san, I don't want to eat here with someone like him. He's a murderer."

Izaya tensed slightly, but retained the friendly smile. "I see I'm highly regarded here."

"Kasuka, he's staying. Stop insulting the flea."

Kasuka looked a little less bored. "But why would you, Nii-san?"

Shizuo didn't answer him. Kasuka went to watch television until a familiar black rider showed up on their doorway.

"What's the black rider doing here, Nii-san?" Kasuka said.

"Celty?" Shizuo questioned. "What are you doing here?"

Celty dismounted and whipped out her Ipad and typed, '_I came to see Izaya. Where is he? I'm concerned about him. He wasn't acting right when I saw him; he didn't have any insults. He just acted like he wanted to disappear.'_

* * *

Izaya frowned as Shizuo told Celty not to bother Izaya and the two of them retreated outside to talk. Izaya knew where this was headed and came close to the window.

"...Celty, the flea was crying."

If Celty had possessed her head, Izaya would assume her eyes would be wide in shock, but judging by the way she jumped back and typed frantically, her reaction was already evident. 'R-Really? _Izaya, of all people? _You know what sort of person he is!'

"Celty...we need to talk about Izaya. Izaya...broke down when I saw him. Like you said before, he has more feelings than we notice. But Izaya's more than that. As a child, Izaya was abused and betrayed by those who he trusted more than anything. He was raised...without any love or human kindness, so isn't it natural he'd wind up being the flea he is now? How can you have any perception of love or kindness if you're never shown any growing up? I don't know how to explain it all...I don't really wish to say too much because the flea is listening in...and I don't know what to think about him anymore. My feelings towards him are becoming confusing, dammit! It's so irritating! Normally, I'd kick him out but now I feel so bad for him and it's pissing me off!"

'Calm down,' Celty wrote. 'So, Izaya is a good person?'

"He was," Shizuo said, "But he has been used and betrayed so many times that his heart shattered and he stopped trusting in others. As a child...I was always hated for my super strength and made fun of for it. Now that I think about it, I think the flea was probably picked on in school, too. In many ways...we're actually quite...similar. You know...he was brought up to believe that his existence meant nothing and that he should die without giving any regard to his own life."

'Who the hell would do something so sick?' Celty wrote. 'That's like the way people treat me!'

"The interesting thing is, when the flea lost his mind, he decided to start _surviving _and decided to start loving himself because he was always denied that, but now he no longer has the capacity or the ability to love others. I hated him, up until a few weeks ago, I really hated him, but now that I think about it...I wonder...did he go insane as a defense mechanism to save himself from collapsing completely? If I were in Izaya's shoes, I think...I think I'd have lost my mind, too. I have people who care about me, but the flea has no one. I never once stopped to think about how lonely he always seemed. Here I always thought the flea was satisfied being alone..."

'...Are you sure it's not a trick?'

"Definitely not. The flea definitely wasn't faking those tears. They were genuine emotions, ones that he's shut up in his heart all this time. Masaomi Kida broke him down, apparently, and Simon threw him out of Russia Sushi."

'What? Simon did?'

"Apparently. And now that I look at Izaya, I wonder why I didn't notice before how human he is."

'...I've misjudged him...and...do you love Izaya?'

Shizuo had no answer for her.

Izaya wasn't surprised at all when Celty came in with Shizuo. Celty seemed hesitant to come near Izaya at first, then she paused and slowly approached him, before typing out three words on her Ipad.

'_Are you okay?'_

Izaya smirked as his answer. "You know the answer to that, Celty. I'm always happy!"

Celty shook her 'head' and wrote, '_No, you're not. I've misjudged you, Izaya. For that, I'm sorry.' _

Izaya just shook his head. "Whatever."

Later on, Izaya fell asleep on Shizuo's couch.

"Damn that flea. I want to kick him off," Shizuo growled.

'Calm down,' Celty wrote. 'He looks so peaceful asleep, though.'

The next morning, Shizuo woke Izaya up by whacking him on the head with a lamp.

"Shizu-chan, what the hell was that for?" Izaya cursed.

"Flea, you're being a freeloader. Now you're going to get out as soon as possible...or...ah, screw it! Do whatever you want!"

Izaya looked at him in surprise. "No insults, Shizu-chan? I'm shocked. Or is it just because your brother is here?"

A glare from Kasuka told him everything he needed to know. "Someone like you shouldn't touch my nii-san. You're an evil person."

Shizuo spoke up then, "Kasuka, the flea is my rival, so only I get to badmouth him. It pisses me off when anyone else insults him. He's human, too."

"I was under the impression that _you_ weren't human, Kasuka-kun. You only have one facial expression for everything." Izaya said.

"Flea, let's go."

"Where?" Izaya said.

"Tell me who the hell broke you down like this."

"The redheads...they broke me down partly..."

* * *

"Damn those bastards!" Shizuo cried. Sure enough, there were Fred and George, who paled when they saw the informant.

"Why are you with a guy like him?"

"Shut the hell up, scum!" Shizuo said as he picked up Fred and slugged him in the stomach.

"I think I broke a rib," Fred whined.

"You're gonna have a lot more broken when I'm through with you!" Shizuo roared. Izaya just stood there, laughing.

Fred passed out, and then George was next.

"This is what the flea felt when your stupid kind did this to him," Shizuo said as he headbutted George and knocked him out as well. "Now you'll feel the same pain he felt."

"Shizu-chan, thanks. That was funny!" Izaya chirped, but Shizuo looked at him in disbelief.

"What the fuck, flea? Did you just thank me? I must be losing my hearing."

"So I did, then...but we have to have our daily fight, too..."

"Of course..." Shizuo said darkly, "This hasn't changed our battle one bit."

And romp they did through Ikebukuro, Izaya laughing insanely like usual, and Mikado and Kida noticed.

Kida just glared at him. "Bastard."

"Hi, Kida-kun."

"Go to hell."

"My, I certainly was in hell after what you did to me, Kida-kun! You made me cry!" Izaya taunted.

"What?" Kida said, not sure what he was hearing.

"Damned right you did. The flea is mine only to beat up." Shizuo said menacingly. Masaomi quivered, but Mikado looked at him.

Mikado looked at Izaya and then nodded his head politely.

* * *

Izaya smirked as he was in his office. "You know...Shizu-chan is a nice person and all...and I do appreciate him feeling bad for me...but so long as I have his precious Celty's head...he'll never think I have it!" He said, before dancing with Celty's head. "If you could open your eyes, what would you see of me? A fallen angel, or a devil getting his revenge on those who wronged him?"

*Maebara Keiichi's nickname by the fans of Higurashi.


	26. Chapter 26 Kida learns the truth

**A/N:Thanks for so many favorites and follows! I love this story as much as my readers do, but I've also got my other stories to work on as well. Well, let's see...so Sirius, Hermione, Fred and George know the Boy-who-lived is alive, and Rita Skeeter, Snape, and the Dursleys are dead. Well, Malfoy and the others are too busy stuck in their little plastic world to notice the Muggles, so Izaya is safe...for now. He will get his revenge very soon. This story is going to be pretty long...I think. I do plan for Dumbledore to die by Izaya's hands and with him fully aware of who he used to be. It'll make his death twice as enjoyable, especially when you know the old coot treated him like shit for no reason. Now let's get on to the story. I know a lot of this is explained in flashbacks, but that's sort of my style and it's also how Izaya thinks. **

* * *

**Chapter 26 New problems arise**

Masaomi Kida kicked the ground as he walked with his friend, Mikado, though inwardly he was seething. Why the hell was Izaya still so fucking cheerful? He had just exposed his hypocrisy to everyone and yet the bastard was still laughing it all off like it was nothing? How dare he laugh it off! He hadn't given a damn when Saki was hospitalized and when Kida was used as his plaything, so why had he reacted like that?

"Damn that bastard..." Kida growled, his hands clenching into fists. Poor, sweet Saki had never deserved being that man's pawn and his personal puppet in order to make Kida do what Izaya wanted to do. He hated that man so much. And what the hell was with those other weirdos who had been around here lately, those weird people dressed in old-fashioned outfits...who were they? What was their link to Izaya?

* * *

"...Kida...I think you should stop messing with him and just drop it already." Mikado's cold voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He still wasn't used to seeing the darker side of his best friend and it still scared the hell out of him to look at him and notice his normally cheerful friend having such cold, unfeeling eyes...it didn't suit sweet, polite Mikado Ryuugamine.

"Mikado, when are you going to stop with acting like you're so distant? I don't believe that Mikado can ever be so damned crazy. I think you should stop defending that pig Izaya. It's disgusting, Mikado, how you still idolize him and think he's so great-"

Pain suddenly went through him as he realized that Mikado had just-he had just...stabbed him...in the foot...with a _pen _of all things. Blood leaked through his shoes. He screamed.

"What the hell, Mikado?"

Mikado was wearing that distant look again, but there was a smirk playing about his lips. "...Uh uh, _Masaomi. _That's not what you say to me. You should stop insulting Izaya. I'm aware what he is. He's a broken man trying to rebuild his sanity from where it was lost-I don't know how or why he lost his sanity, but that's a personal issue with him. I don't like him very much, but I do respect his selfish-ness. That was a warning, Masaomi."

"Mikado, you just stabbed my foot! I could become crippled! We're friends, Mikado!"

Mikado glared at him. "...We _are_ friends, Masaomi. Which is why I'm telling you to shut the hell up and leave Izaya alone. He's as broken as you are mentally, and touching him in this state will only make things worse. He's a madman and Ikebukuro is his playground, but he has a child-like state about him, don't you think? He has a reason for being the way he is. Just leave him alone."

Masaomi said, "Don't you know what he's done, Mikado? He's done horrible things-"

"So have you. You made him cry, Masaomi. He's just as human as you, surely you didn't already know he was just as fragile as you or I? Or did you, silly little Masaomi, think, oh Izaya's a complete and utter devil with no heart? I can see you believing that. See, Masaomi, your problem is you're too naive to see how things really work. But I can protect you from that. I will with my Dollars, but I don't want to hear you tearing him down when he's already so broken."

"What's so great about him? He's not a human, he's an inhuman devil who toys with others' lives! Surely you should know that."

"Why else would he cry unless he has emotions, Masaomi? That's why I stabbed you-to make you realize the pain you caused him. You tore his heart open and created new scars. He obviously has old scars causing him grief and you had to add more to his plate. Now let's get you treated. That wound wasn't that bad; it's nothing compared to the pain you gave him."

"I hate him...the world would be better off if he died..." Kida growled as he got his wound treated by a nurse; Mikado told a little lie about how he had acquired the injury. He was surprised at how devious and twisted his friend was. He was scared of him.

He got out shortly afterwards with a cast on his leg that wouldn't last long. As he limped along, he bumped into the last person he wanted to see.

* * *

"Yo~, hello there, Kida-kun! What happened to your foot? A little injury? Who gave it to you?"

"Mikado," Masaomi growled, "What the hell have you done to him? Have you also made him into your little pawn as well?"

"Come now, Masaomi, he's always been that way, you were just too dumb to notice the brilliance lurking inside your best friend before it was too late, or should I say madness? But true best friends don't turn on each other for stupid reasons. I'd like to have a chat with you in private-just the two of us."

"Not a chance," Masaomi spat.

"Ara? That so? I think I'll have to bring Shizu-chan along, too..."

Shizuo looked very menacing. Kida gulped. "Fine, but I'm not playing any of your mind games."

"Oh, this is a game, but it's a game of my future and the future of a certain place that has caused me nothing but grief. I'm going to destroy it and everyone in it! It'll be glorious!" He cried, skipping happily.

"Flea, I'll never understand how you can be so innocent yet twisted," Shizuo groaned.

"Blame that on the one who brought me into being," He said darkly, and Kida noticed the smile fall off Izaya's face before a look of pure loathing appeared and then vanished.

* * *

"What is this all about?" He spat as he went in Izaya's office.

"Now, now, don't go raising your voice. What I'm about to tell you should remain between you and me. You've been snooping around and learning about things you shouldn't know, so I suppose you would know eventually. Well, those idiots in costumes aren't ordinary cosplayers, they're magical people."

"You're joking," Masaomi said.

"I'm not. They think they're better than us ordinary people and they control us all the time. What a bunch of obnoxious morons they are. Anyway...my story begins a long time ago...when I was born, under an entirely different name than the one I have now...I was happy, growing up with a family...and then one day, a crazed man showed up at my door and murdered my former father with a wand and then he killed my former mother, and then somehow my old self destroyed him. I was one, without parents and a house. A man who I shall not name showed up to claim me as a prize for destroying a murderer. I had a mark that labeled me, as a 'hero', a 'savior' for this magical world. So he knew he had to do this to me."

"Do what?" Masaomi said, "Yup, this sounds like a lie."

"The flea speaks the truth. Shut up and listen," Shizuo said grimly, "It's mighty unpleasant."

"That it is. But so was this man. He was a great and powerful man in all positions of power in this magical world and seemed a kind sort, but inside he was a wicked man who manipulated people far more than I ever will. He saw my parents' death as an opportunity-a chance to take an innocent child and raise him to be a puppet for the entertainment of this world. So he chose to bring me to a house with people who weren't magical and hated magical people-with good reason, too-and left me there without warning. I was never to be raised to know of my 'purpose' and of what I 'was.' That home was...hell on earth. ~My dear old Aunt and Uncle...what lovely people they were...they made me their slave who did all the work around the house and they beat me if I did the slightest thing wrong. See this mark on my leg? My uncle whacked me with his belt when I burned his food slightly. This other mark is from when my cousin tried to kill me with a butcher knife. Both times, my 'family' encouraged it and approved of it. I was forced to be an outcast, a pariah with no meaning in life."

Kida was silent. "...What the hell kind of joke is this, Izaya?"

"It's no joke. I was raised with no kindness or love. I was a nobody in their eyes. I was bullied at school, beaten by my cousin and his buddies regularly, starved of food and of attention and locked in a single room. Gradually, I started to care less about others. And then...one day, those wizards showed up again after doing nothing to help me get through near-death situations and allowed those people to continue abusing me. They told me about my 'destiny.' You see, I was supposed to be a sort of symbol for them, a symbol of hope. So I fell for this bullshit and went to their world. It was a lie, of course...the place I went to had students dying on a regular basis, teachers who didn't care, teachers who bullied you and made your life hell, and sadistic students who bullied anyone who was different. Nothing was different. I was tortured by my teacher. This man was a headmaster of the school who was supposed to protect me and the other children. He didn't care. You know what he really wanted? Power."

"You're lying-"

"I don't lie about the things people did to me, Kida. This all happened to me. How could I forget the looks of scorn people sent me, the times I was humiliated in their newspaper and given death threats for existing and having an opinion, the times I was nearly attacked by monsters and killed? My two friends...well, calling them that was a bad joke. All of the years I was there were a joke, Kida-kun. I was the pariah of the school, the kid everyone pisses off and bullies. I was beaten, tortured, humiliated, and even mind-raped. No one cared. Eventually, I learned that I was sent back to that hell-hole..._for the amusement of that bastard." _

"You're lying...that can't be true..." Kida said.

"Kida-kun, this man pretended to care about me, and gave me 'advice...' and 'guidance...' in reality, he wanted a tool he could use and discard. I was a nobody. In the end, I discovered the truth after confronting my 'friends' on their hypocrisy. My best 'friend' disowned me and whacked me on the head and gave me a concussion. As I lay in the bed recovering, it was then that I heard those awful words that scarred my heart forever..."

"What? What happened...?" Kida asked, stunned by the iciness and pure anger and rage in Izaya's voice. It sounded like he was convinced this happened to him.

"...Well...he was displeased with my injury and wanted to send me back to hell. Then, good old Runt and Herwhinny showed up, whining about my injuries. Here's what they said." He changed his voice to a high one.

"Why can't he just die already? He's a vegetable-he's useless as he is now! We've pretended to like him just so we can get rid of him! He's an egotistical, useless pain in the ass! How dare he complain about being beaten so much by Snape?! Why, the other day, I saw him crying alone in the bathroom. It was so pathetic and disgusting. Why can't he be grateful to us?"

Kida gasped in plain horror. "You're lying...Izaya..."

"And then my other friend says, what about the money we get from spying on him? They befriended me so they could use me as a tool. His family...well, they wanted me to make children with their daughter. You see, the 'destiny' I was supposed to fulfill was to take on the most dangerous 'psychopath' and _die as a hero. I was raised thinking it was okay for me to die so easily without thinking about it. They all enstilled this in me. And if I wasn't dead, merely crippled or in a vegetative state, they'd still use me for breeding purposes and then kill me, or else erase my memories and make me a living puppet. _A child, being raised to die despite never being asked if he wishes to do this...what kind of effect do you think that does to your mental state, Kida-kun? Or clearly you've never experienced that feeling before...ah, it does wonders...it opened me up to how screwed-up the world is...but it also drove me insane. I destroyed my magic, and left that accursed place for my own survival. I was determined to live, even if that meant destroying others. I would get my revenge on those who stood by and watched me suffer. So I went to Japan and got into crime and became the man you know today, Orihara Izaya. That's all there is to it, really. So, am I still a huge jerk, Kida-kun?"

Kida was shaking in shock, staring at him as though he were an alien. "...How can that be true? How do I know you're not lying?"

"Because why else would I have this?" He said before showing him the faded scar of the head wound. "It hurt oh so much...lying there, bleeding and hearing my friends laugh over my weakness. Eventually I learned to hurt others just as they had hurt me. When you're raised like that, Kida-kun, you don't think normally. If deprived of love, how can you love when you've never felt the hug of a parent? If deprived of pride, how can you ever feel proud of yourself? If deprived of sanity, how can you ever deal with what hits you? That all happened to me."

"...That's screwed up. Why would they raise you to die? That's awful. I never thought, of all reasons you do this...that it would be because you wanted to live. I always thought you were twisted from the beginning...I'm sorry you had to go through that. But still, what about what you did to Saki?"

"...They wanted a convenient scapegoat and I was the right choice. In my defense, Saki's injury was not my intention. I merely wanted her to be held hostage so you could realize what she meant to you. Unfortunately, my pawns did their own thing. I can no longer feel empathy or remorse, so I am no longer capable of love or tears, until you made me release my tears again. But now I'm still the twisted devil, aren't I, Kida-kun? You never look past the surface. So...what do you think?"

"That's just...terrible...it explains why you think so little of life...because life was never given to you...and love was never bestowed to you, hence you could only love in the way you knew how...but it doesn't excuse how you've used me and everyone else!"

"You're right. It doesn't, but I don't know how to feel apologetic anymore. My heart is frozen and I can't feel anymore. I don't want to feel anymore. Emotions are weak and pathetic. My crying was entirely accidental. You won't see me ever do something so stupid again!" He chirped. "I'm going to destroy all of them!"

"Why?"

"Why? Because they deserve it. They abandoned me, so I abandoned them. They hate me, so I hate them. They wanted to kill me, so in return I'll destroy every single one of them and make them beg for mercy. That's what I've lived for-revenge. I won't rest until they're all dead, Kida-kun." He said before clenching his fists tightly.

"Why would you tell me this?" Kida said.

"Why? Because I need you as a pawn. Because you're irreplaceable, Kida-kun. You're just the rightly naive idiot with a trusting complex I need."

"Did you just say that...?" Kida and Shizuo both said. Izaya blinked and shrugged.

"What? Some pawns are better than others. Sometimes, you grow to value the ones who stand back up after being broken. Well, that doesn't mean I'd cry if you died. I wouldn't care one way or the other, but I need you as a pawn and nothing more. Don't take it to mean anything else."

Kida was stunned. Was Izaya actually _saying that he cared about him? _It was hard to believe, but the look in his eyes was one of boredom and annoyance. "You're joking."

"~Nope. I hold on to my pawns. They belong to me, just as every human belongs to me. I don't share what's mine with anyone else."

Kida nearly fell out of his chair. "Izaya, you've lost your mind. I'm leaving."

"No, he hasn't. The flea is serious. Come on, you don't honestly think he has a heart? Of course he does-though it's a rather cold and small one..." Shizuo trailed off.

"That's mean, Shizu-chan," Izaya said playfully, though it seemed like he was smirking...or..._smiling? _

"Flea, stop smiling. It's irritating. Holy...holy shit, flea, you're smiling?"

The smile vanished and returned as a smirk. "Nope, you're seeing things, Shizu-chan. That's for idiots."

But for a moment, Shizuo and Kida had seen a trace of..._happiness in the psychopathic informant. _

Kida realized this man was as pure as he was twisted.* But he had his reasons why. "...Fine. But I'm not your friend or anything. You're still a twisted asshole I'm going to blow into next week..." He spat as he walked out, completely disillusioned with himself and Izaya.

* * *

When he visited Saki, she smiled.

"I knew you'd come. Where's Izaya? I wished he'd come."

"He's not coming back. I won't let him hurt you-"

"What are you talking about? Izaya-sama was never hurting me, Masaomi. In fact, he helped me heal by giving me hope. Even if he was using me and lying to me, he helped me. He told me about his sisters and how annoying they are, but I knew he loved them. He even saved their lives once. He denies it with that cute smirk of his, but he did do it. And, the one who helped me recover...was him. He was angry with the Blue Squares for hurting a child. I don't know why...but I feel like he hates hurting children. I think he was hurt in the past and developed this cold side as a means of hiding his hurt. He's become his persona, but he still has a frozen heart of gold underneath."

Kida gaped in shock. "But...but..."

"Masaomi, what have I told you about not looking past the surface? Izaya-sama isn't the worst person in the world. Neither are you for running away. In fact, Izaya-sama himself ran away from death to survive. He mentioned that off-handedly to me once and then refused to bring it up. He's a twisted man, but deep down, he does care in his own warped way." Saki scolded.

"You always had a way of seeing right through me..." Kida said softly.

She smiled and squeezed his hand. "That's what I've always loved about you...your stubbornness and naive nature make you cute."

Kida blushed. "Hey! I'm not stupid!"

"You're so adorable when you deny things." Saki said, laughing. And then Kida laughed as well.

"So he is...human?" He said. "I've misunderstood him this entire time. What is he thinking, in that head of his? How the hell could he survive something like that and still live?"

"...He's a survivor. He's the kind who can't die until he's fulfilled a purpose. You have to admire his tenacity." Saki said vaguely.

* * *

"Flea..." Shizuo said as Izaya walked over to his shelf, looking through books, "What is that up on your shelf?"

Izaya froze. "Nothing's up there, Shizu-chan. Just a pickle jar."

"It looks like there's a mannequin in it or something...what is it?" Shizuo said in confusion.

Izaya paled... "What does it look like? It has brown hair...a face...eyes, and lips..."

Shizuo's eyes widened in comprehension and then he whipped out of his chair, enraged. "You bastard! I should've known you were scheming something! Why the hell do you have Celty's head? Give it back to her, dammit! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Shizu-chan...Shinra would never allow me to do that. He's in love with her as long as she's weird. I can't stand that about him, but his father gave me this head. He wanted to toy with his son. And I'm not giving her that head because my friend wants her the way she is. Is that so wrong?"

"Hell yeah, flea. She wants her memories back! How can you justify-"

"Shizu-chan, remember, if I could forget my past, I'd gladly do it. In a way, she's amazing. She's completely forgotten by everyone and built a new identity. I can't do that. I envy her innocence. She's fine like this. Don't you agree?"

Shizuo shook in rage, but sat back down. "Fine...you're still an asshole. Are you really that lonely?"

"Lonely? Whyever would I be lonely?"

"You are, flea. Why else would you stir up trouble?"

"It's simply for my own amusement."

*-Pandora Hearts reference, said of Levi about Jack.


	27. Chapter 27 Sudden Tide change

**A/N:Oh boy, time for the new chapter! Yeah, I'm excited. I know a lot of people love this story myself included, but I will not end it any time soon (I intend for this to probably be my longest story) I imagine it'll be so. Izaya's adventures are far from over, you see. There's still a lot more to play around with. He will kill Dumbassdore, don't you worry now. That's all arranged, lol. Renascentia should be updated within the next day or so. :D I'm having so much fun RPing on Tumblr as Izaya! Check me out at justaloverofhumanity /tumblr. /com Tumblr is so much fun, I never get tired of it, but my first home is and always will be . **

* * *

**Chapter 27 Sudden Tide Change**

Sirius Black stared in worry at the note he'd gotten from his nephew. It said that he'd been crying recently but now he was back to normal, and on top of that, his boyfriend had beaten the crap out of Fred and George for making him break down. That wasn't good. Was a visit in order to make sure his Prongslet was doing all right?

For even though Izaya went by another name now and not Harry, he would always be his precious Prongslet and a dear friend to him (even though he was disturbed by his nephew's psychopathic tendencies, he supposed that was a given compared to what he had gone through over those nine long years the boy known as Orihara Izaya had been in existence and Harry dead.

Though he did miss the old Harry, he supposed Izaya was here to stay. And that in itself was good enough for him. He sighed, wondering if the gift he had sent to his nephew was enough in itself to cheer him up and snap him out of this depression he was feeling. Sighing, he sat down and listened to Tonks talk about how troubling it was fighting the war against Voldemort.

"It's not like the Muggles would be of any use! We've had to obliviate even more of their memories lately! Sooner or later, Albus, we'll have no choice but to tell the Muggles just what's going on! We can't continue to keep them ignorant of the situation at hand!"

Dumbledore stroked his beard in thought and then spoke, calmly, "Minerva, I trust you've helped calm Mrs. Granger down after her..._ordeal with _Mr. Weasley, correct?"

Minerva McGonagall looked at him as though he were nuts and glared at him. "Albus, have you lost your mind? Mrs. Granger is being beaten up on by Mr. Weasley, and you _dare _to tell me I should just calm her down? And then what, Albus? Are you going to suggest I whisper sweet nothings to her and then just take her back and dump her where she'll inevitably be attacked again? This is the same as what you did to Mr. Potter, and doing such things surely can't be healthy-"

Albus silenced her. "Now, now, let's stop doing that, Minerva. Mr. Potter's...abuse...was unfortunate at best, but necessary at worst; it helped him become the hero we needed him to be for our world."

Sirius felt his anger and hatred for the man rise up again. Was the man so greedy and desiring of power that he'd rather just throw away everyone else in a desperate grab for power? It almost brought to mind his own nephew...but...

"And what came about because of that, Albus? He snapped his wand in half and ran away and effectively died, because we know full well no wizard can survive without their wand. It'll drive them to madness, or else they'll just die! We now know Mr. Potter is dead. So what of it? I don't remember you showing any sadness over Mr. Potter running away at all; didn't you seem rather neutral? Albus, I'm talking to you! Albus!"

Albus just looked at her for a long moment. "I know you must feel responsible, Minerva, for turning the boy away from his duties, but the boy had things he had to accomplish, and for that, his treatment had to be...well, different from other children his age. The Dursleys was the only place where he could be safe-"

"Only place? _Only place? _Are you joking, Albus? He was beaten up, thrown down the steps, mistreated and placed in a cupboard under the stairs! What on earth would make you ever think that was a suitable place for a growing boy? I told you from the start that we should have never placed him there!"

Dumbledore sighed and stroked his beard once more, annoyed. He could've sworn he had shut Minerva up on this topic years ago, so why was she brining it up once more? Damn this woman and her dangerous tongue. She was a pain and a thorn in the side who failed to realize that Harry Potter was a tool, a necessary one who wasn't to be treated like ordinary boys.

"...Japan was pointless, too. There was no sign of any magical people there; nor any signs of those who could've killed Rita Skeeter! You're leading a ghost chase, Albus, and Harry Potter is dead, dead!" She roared as she stormed out.

"Is that really true, Dumbledore? Did Harry's relatives really misuse him?" Tonks questioned.

Dumbledore sighed and stroked Fawkes. "My dear, all of that was necessary for the Greater Good."

Tonks nodded skeptically. "I see what you mean," She said, "But still, couldn't there have been another way?"

For a moment, she could've sworn she felt a great and terrible evil emanating from the old man, but perhaps she was imagining it, for again he smiled and the benevolent aura returned, as though it had never left him to begin with.

She could feel a shudder travel down her spine as she looked into those blue eyes and she almost swore she saw a hint of a warning in those eyes-something that told her, no, _commanded _her to never disobey orders again, or else she would suffer a terrible, terrible punishment.

"Good, good," Dumbledore mumbled. With Severus out of the way, there was no one who would dare question his judgment and orders. He was most thankful to the death eater who had offed Rita Skeeter, now there was no one to criticize him and make light of his flaws. That bitch had caused him enough trouble as it was. Now he needed to find his pawn.

Pawns didn't just die; they were either useful or useless. It was at that point, then...that Dumbledore decided to give up on Harry Potter and instead, decided to focus on a newer, better target who was more suitable for being groomed into the perfect hero and tool for his purposes:one Mr. Ronald Weasley.

Ron would go for this fame easily and let it get to his head. He would be the new, better, 'savior.' Forget about Harry Potter, he was dead. Little did Dumbledore know that Harry Potter was still alive and would eventually get his revenge in the most diabolical way he could imagine.

* * *

"It's a nice day out today, isn't it?" Izaya said cheerily to Namie as he sat in his office. "It's so nice and warm, filled with nice people...people that I can use and manipulate..."

"I knew you were going to turn something innocent into something dark...that's how you always are." Namie said in annoyance.

Izaya sighed melodramatically as he took Celty's head off its shelf and played with it. "You're so not fun to be with, you know that? You're so boring, Namie-chan..."

"You're acting like a child again. Frankly, I find that both enchanting and disturbing." Namie said sarcastically.

"Ah, ah, ah, Namie-chan, you wound me with those observations!" Izaya said darkly before moving his attention to the pawns on the board. "I am the way I am now because that's just _~me, _Orihara Izaya, at your service!"

"You are disgustingly egotistical," Namie said darkly, "And put that head away. Stop playing with it so much. The way you worship that head sickens me."

"I don't worship it, Namie-chan. I just know it'll find its way to Celty soon and besides that, it'll make my dream come true! I'll be able to ascend to Valhalla, the warrior's heaven!"

"Someone like you isn't deserving of that." Namie said snidely.

"You know, you really are so mean, Namie-chan! You break my heart, you know that?" Izaya snarked, laughing maniacally like always.

His eyes widened then as Shizuo came in the door, looking angry.

"Flea...what's going on? Why are you playing with her head like that?"

"Playing? Don't be so vulgar. I'm merely admiring her beauty, Shizu-chan! Are you jealous or something?" Izaya taunted, staring at him as though he were nuts.

"Flea, I'm not the one with the fetish for Celty's head," Shizuo said darkly, sitting down beside him and then glaring at Izaya.

"What, Shizu-chan? Are you angry with me?" Izaya said darkly as he whipped out his knife and put Celty's head away.

"I'm just...irritated, is all. I never thought I'd say this...but Izaya, do you ever think we could stop fighting?"

Izaya froze, his switchblade nearly falling out of his hands. "What? Stop fighting?"

"Yeah. Do you have a problem with that, flea?" Shizuo said, glaring at him, but paused when he noticed Izaya look shocked.

"...Shizu-chan, nothing feels right when we're not fighting," He said, his hands shaking slightly. "It feels like...I'm not controlling...my life...and I hate that feeling..."

"Izaya?" Shizuo said, in confusion, upon seeing the young man shaking...until he realized Izaya was _laughing. _

"Ha ha! Such an epic joke this is, Shizu-chan! What's next, you want to kiss me and marry me? When will that ever happen, huh? You and I are opposites! You're the monster, I'm the lover of all humans! It means I can't have a single one to myself!"

"Flea, stop with that crap. I know you're hiding how you feel. Stop denying your emotions."

Izaya looked at him with a calm face, and he had to shudder at how fast the flea could change his expressions. It was a little unnerving.

"...Hey, Shizu-chan...how would you feel if you did kill me?"

"...Flea...I don't want you to ask me such a stupid question again. Flea, your life is worth living, dammit! Don't you ever ask me such a fucking stupid question again! Flea, you belong here! People need you..._Shinra needs you, Celty needs you..._hell, even I need you for entertainment..."

Izaya looked at him in bewilderment before he burst out laughing. "Hilarious, Shizu-chan! You're so dumb you fell for that one! Ha ha ha ha!" His laugh was insane like always.

"What the hell, flea? I could tell that was one hundred percent serious. Stop taking your own life so lightly, dammit. Even if you are Izaya Orihara the flea, the stupid informant who toys with others' lives like this...your existence still means something! So stop it!" Shizuo cried as he slugged Izaya in the face.

Izaya burst out laughing maniacally once more. "Shizu-chan! You're amazing like always! Still a foolish protozoan!"

"...Flea...you're an idiot..."

"Ha ha ha, and Shizu-chan's the biggest idiot of them all! His brain is incredibly smallll!"

"IZAYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, GET BACK HERE, DAMMIT!"

"YOU'VE GOTTA CATCH ME FIRST, SHIZU-CHANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!"

* * *

Anri lifted her head up upon seeing Izaya and Shizuo chasing each other again and shook her head. "Those two...the scariest ones in the city...they look sort of...happy..."

A voice chanted in her head, '_Let me love them. Let me love Shizuo. Let me love Izaya.' _

Anri shook her head. "No...it's clear to me that both of them have already found the ones they love...each other...I don't think they realize it..."

'_I must love Shizuo. Shizuo. I must love Shizuo.' _

"Shut up," Anri said softly.

But the voice inside her would not calm down.

Celty shook her helmet upon seeing the two of them chasing each other again. But this was only the calm before the storm.

* * *

Voldemort shook his head, his red eyes full of sadness. "It's sad, the path Potter has taken, but I approve of it. But he has thrown his life away from being a wizard, and so has fallen out of being my equal. He knows too much...I want him dead..."

But he was still troubled. The boy knew too much. He was invaluable and yet neither world would care much if Harry Potter-Izaya Orihara were to die. But these Muggles would be no match for him, make sure of that...

He smirked. Yes, the boy would be gotten rid of-that had been the plan from day one. He had not just accepted Potter's vow of peace. The boy would still attract the old fart and then was the perfect time to strike down two nuisances with one stone-or one wand spell. All Izaya needed was an Avada Kedavra and he'd be no more.

Ah, but Voldemort did not know about Celty and Saika and Shizuo...nor the problems he would have in trying to carry out his goal...


	28. Chapter 28 Lucius

**A/N:Time for teh next chapter. :D I'm glad you all enjoy this story so much. I enjoy it as well. I've had so much fun roleplaying with everyone on Tumblr that sometimes my stories slip to the back of my mind, but I'm gonna keep on writing, don't you worry! Now it's time to rewrite this story from scratch since my poor laptop went dead on me last night. I mean the chapter, not the entire thing! Thank goodness for that. **

**""Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction." -Criss Jami, goodreads. com **

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight Reminiscences-or the informant's dark demons**

Izaya Orihara let out a great sigh as he looked up some more of Awakusu Akane's information. The girl really had so much in common with his old self; that it was heartbreaking-or, pitying, to say the least, to see. She had false friends, false classmates that pretended to like her and made up things about her behind her back, and had evil relatives-boy, wasn't that familiar?

He just had a feeling, somehow, that he should prevent more children from suffering like he did. He had always been alone through most of his life. But Izaya had grown used to his lot in life, and for a time, he'd even told himself that he deserved it. But now, now he knew he hadn't deserved that lot in life; he'd just been brainwashed into thinking that sort of treatment towards a child was okay.

Thankfully, he now knew better than to believe such garbage. Now, as an informant, he could say that he now cared about himself and his well-being more than anything else. It was good. He wasn't concerned with what others thought of him anymore, especially not the magical people. From a young age, he had indeed trusted in that great man who called himself by the name of Dumbledore, and what had that given him? A bleeding head wound and his psychosis, both gifts he really really enjoyed. Oh, sure, he still hated the old man, and he was sure he'd be the first one to die when he entered that world, the old man would be the first to go.

He smirked then. "It would seem to me that dear old Voldemort has decided to kill me," He mumbled as he picked up his black chess pawn and placed it on the board. "Your time as a sacrificial pawn is almost up, 'Mione. Perhaps I should kill you. You know too much, as always. That will be your downfall. No, how about I just let Runt kill you? He's already doing that himself. Yes, and when he sees what he's done, he'll take his own life! How delightful that will be!" Izaya cried out, knocking the white chess piece he had to the ground. "Yes, and when that happens, he'll leave this world without any regrets!"

A smirk crawled up his face, a very broad one. His eyes lighted up upon seeing a new message, from Hermione, of all people. He smirked. Today was his day. "What could she possibly want to tell me?" He mumbled to himself as he looked over it.

'Voldemort wants to kill you.'

'_Ah, you think I don't already know that, Mione-chan? After all he's done to me? Of course I know. Rest assured, he won't kill me. But you don't care if I live or die, do you? You never did.'_

_'I don't care. I'm not your little puppet.'_

_'Uh, uh, uh, on second thought, you're my pawn and you're gonna do as I tell you to do. Now, if I told you you were to do something else for me, what would you say, little pawn?'_

_'**Screw you, I'm not doing anything** you want me to do. I'm going to tell Dumbledore about you.'_

_'No way, you aren't. I'll make sure of that, after all.'_

Izaya smirked as he closed his text messages and shut his phone off, thoroughly cutting off the brunette and her angry rants. "Well, well, doesn't she have quite the fiery tongue? Then again, she always did."

He smiled then as he looked at his phone. "It's about time you came over to see me, Shizu-chan."

"Flea...what the fuck's going on? Tell me why is someone after you? I came across this idiot, trying to attack you! Instead I paralyzed him!" Shizuo cried, holding up a struggling Lucius Malfoy.

"My, my, it's been a while, hasn't it, Lucius-kun?" Izaya purred, whipping out a pistol.

"Potter, you've become a filthy Muggle...my lord's orders were to kill you...here and now..."

Izaya laughed. "_You? Kill me? _Sorry, but I plan on living." Izaya said as he pulled the trigger to the pistol and fired, shooting Lucius right in the head, who collapsed, dead.

"Flea, you didn't have to-"

"Shizu-chan, obviously he somehow discovered I was alive. Let's dispose of his body." Izaya said darkly.

Shizuo sighed. "Why do I always have to get dragged into your messes?"

"Because it's fun?" Izaya purred, which only earned him a groan from the bartender.


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N:Holy shit, are we already on chapter 29? You bet your boots we are! I just had to listen to some obnoxious comedy show, but my muse is back, like usual, so now it's time for the next chapter! Sorry for the lame as hell chapter title, but there should be more changes coming in the wind for poor Izaya. After all, he killed Lucius Malfoy, of all people. Voldemort will not be pleased. At this rate, you probably thought I was gonna go for the "OH VOLDIE'S SO NICE AND MISUNDERSTOOD!" Nope, both he and Dumbledore are Izaya's enemies. Voldie deprived him of a family while Dumbles deprived him of a normal, human life, sent him back to a hellhole year after year, left him to deal with things on his own and only showed up when it was convenient. By Izaya's standards, Voldie's nicer, because he tells him when he wants him to die and is straightforward about it, but being a straightforward villain doesn't make you any less evil than you already are. Just a note. I already subverted Hermione 'reforming' Izaya/or them having a romantic relationship by having him use her and then some probably thought I was going for Voldie being good all along! Nope, there's no easy answer. DURARAFUCKINGRA does not give you answers that easily. It's not like Sailor Moon, where every bad guy is just evil. Thank goodness for that. I'd much rather have villains with depth than villains who just do evil shit because they can. Anyway, enough with the long-ass A/N. Time for the story to begin. **

**Chapter 29 More challenges ahead**

* * *

Voldemort frowned as he sat in his chair with Nagini by his side, who was curled up and flicking her tail back and forth. The news he had received back from her had not been pretty. Harry Potter, or Izaya Orihara, had survived the latest assassination attempt and had instead killed Lucius.

Voldemort felt his upper lip curl. He had the tiniest bit of respect for the boy, but he was limiting himself so much by sticking with those filthy Muggles. Why not return home to the wizards, where his kind naturally belonged? Wizards were one-of-a-kind and the Muggles were unfortunate creatures who did not deserve to exist due to their ignorance of the wizard's ways. How many of their kind had been murdered by the evil Muggles due to misunderstandings?

However naive the boy was now was none of his concern. He must destroy the boy, wizard or not, Muggle or not, he was still a threat, and no threats could remain alive in Lord Voldemort's paranoid mindset. That was what their deal had been from the beginning, a mere 'test' to see who was more useful to the other, and now that Izaya Orihara had proved his usefulness, he was going to die, because he knew too much.

"It's a pity, you would have made a great Death Eater, if only you'd kept your magic, Potter," He said to himself, chuckling darkly. Nagini hissed something, at which he nodded his head.

"Yes, Nagini, you would like him more now. He is more evil and dark now. He is also insane, but he is a worthless Muggle now."

Nagini looked disgusted and hissed something else that amused the Dark Lord.

"Oh, yes, he could've done so much with his magic. It's a pity he wasted it."

* * *

-Meanwhile, in Ikebukuro, Japan-

Shinra Kishitani looked at Shizuo and Izaya in shock as they dragged in a dead person. "Do I even _need_ to ask what happened, you two?"

Shizuo spat, "Shut the hell up with your whining, Shinra! An assassin just tried to kill the flea, but Izaya killed him first, which is good because if Izaya hadn't, I would've and it would've been painful, too."

"Shizu-chan, shut up about it. I'm not in the mood to talk." Izaya growled, causing Shizuo to look at him in surprise.

"Izaya, oi, is everything all right?"

"I've nearly been assassinated by one of those bastards! Of course everything is _fine!_" Izaya growled, causing both Shinra and Celty to look at him in bewilderment.

"I don't get what's going on. Are you two hiding something from me?" Shinra asked.

"It's up to the flea whether or not that skeleton gets unearthed. I'm not gonna dredge up another wound." Shizuo remarked darkly.

Izaya just looked at him and then rolled his eyes. "Your pity is unnecessary, Shizu-chan. Now, Shinra, we came to you because we know you know how to dispose of a body. So help us, please. Some sick freaks from a long time ago are trying to kill me. A long time ago, I ran away from another country and came here, to stay away from them."

"So you were, huh? I always suspected that was the case with you, Izaya. You never brought up your past, your home, or anything. Was it from England?"

Izaya's sharp glare made him shut up quickly, so the informant continued on.

"Yes...and Celty knows the story, I assume." He said before glancing over at her.

Celty nodded and typed, 'People want to kill you? Why? Is it because of that place? The one that tried to have you killed, Izaya?'

"Yes. You see, Shinra, from the time I was born, people wanted me to die for their own interests. My entire life was dictated according to a prophecy. But I rebelled, and now I fulfill my own destiny," He said vaguely.

"T-That's terrible!" Shinra said, "I never knew that..."

"Of course not. Why the hell would I want to talk about it? And now, I'm ready to kill them all for what they've done. There's no turning back. They're not dragging me into their little war." His fists tightened so hard around his switchblade that blood dripped down from his knuckles.

"Flea, calm down. We'll be here for you." Shizuo said.

'These people sound terrible,' Celty wrote, 'I definitely won't let them get you, Izaya!'

Izaya chuckled, "Isn't that ironic, considering I have-"

Shizuo slammed his arm hard.

"Ow, dammit, Shizu-chan, that hurt!" Izaya complained.

"You told me yourself you don't want her to have it." Shizuo hissed. "So why would you-"

"Shush, Shizu-chan, I need to think," Izaya said as his gaze went over to a chessboard Shinra had. He scattered the pieces and stacked them up. "It's time to start a new game..."

"Izaya, save your scheming for later."

"Shut up, Shinra. This time, I will play to win, and they'd better watch out, because the monster is coming, and he will have no mercy on them."*

***-The monster is coming: Reference to one of my favorite animes Monster. Such a great series. Everyone should watch it.**


	30. Chapter 30 tortured memories

A/N:OOH, dark chapter in our midst, possibly because listening to LP brings out these feelings in me or maybe I'm just plain nuts! You decide, okay? Being on my period also makes me darker and more depressed!

Chapter 30 Tortured memories

* * *

Izaya sat on his couch, typing away on his laptop, much to Shizuo's annoyance, who had been trying to engage in social conversation for the informant, but he had been too engrossed in the computer to pay any attention to the bartender, until he was practically freaking mad.

"Flea, can't you take your eyes off the laptop?"

"Shizu-chan, I'm at work right now. And right now, such things will only serve to annoy me..."

Then suddenly, a feeling like fire suddenly tore through his skull as that goddamned scar burned again. Izaya cursed under his breath and ignored it, doing his best to keep his eyes on the screen and continue typing. He didn't understand...what was going on with him? Why was his stupid scar acting up now, of all times?

"Flea, are you okay?" Shizuo asked, coming over to the informant's side and staring at him in worry.

Izaya glanced at him briefly as his eye twinged. "Do I look all right to you, Shizu-chan? I think the answer...is...no..." He mumbled as the pain became so intense that he passed out, right before a shocked Shizuo, Shinra and Celty.

"Shizuo, pick him up!" Shinra said, looking at his friend in worry.

'What just happened?' Celty typed into her PDA.

"I don't know, one second he was conscious, the next he's out cold!" Shizuo cried. "Dammit, flea, wake up!"

But Izaya was limp in his arms, though he was twitching and muttering under his breath when he was put in bed.

"I think he's somehow suffered a relapse. It seems to me like something triggered some PTSD. He must be undergoing some kinds of repressed memories-"

"Shinra, speak plain Japanese, dammit!" Shizuo cried.

"In other words, his memories...his worst ones, were hidden from him by his mind when he became insane. But at this time, they have resurfaced and are causing him extreme mental and emotional pain. There's nothing we can do now but wait for him to fight them off himself."

"Dammit, flea!" Shizuo cursed, punching the wall. He stood by Izaya's bedside, trying hard not to punch something. Why did he feel like crying right now? Why? Was it because Izaya was suffering and he could do nothing to help him? Was it because he knew virtually nothing about what Izaya was going through, much less how scared and lonely the informant must feel now. The whole thing made him utterly pissed off.

"Why does he have to go through this? Why him and not me? He didn't deserve this."

Shinra looked surprised for a few moments before he spoke again, this time in a softer undertone. "Shizuo, you love Izaya, don't you?"

"Hah?" Shizuo said, looking at him as though he had grown a third head. "Are you nuts?"

"No," Shinra said, smiling faintly, "I can tell that the relationship between you two has greatly changed. It's moved from hatred to understanding, and it's more like friendship, but it's deeper. You are in love with him, even if you're not aware of it right now, and there's nothing wrong with that. Trust me, Shizuo, I've known you since we were kids. I can read your feelings like an open book."

Shizuo's mouth fell open and he nearly punched the 'good' doctor. "Shinra, it's not like that at all! I just...I just...feel bad for the flea and don't want him to suffer like that again! That's all! It's just pity! Sooner or later, we'll go back to throwing things at each other again." But he didn't realize that he was blushing as he said this, which Celty and Shinra noticed but didn't bother to comment on.

"Denial..." Shinra said teasingly.

"Dammit, Shinra, shut the fuck up! Izaya can't get better with you idiots making false assumptions about us!"

It was then that he was cut off, by a low moan. It was coming from Izaya. The flea was tossing and turning in his sleep, looking very pained and stressed out. It was as though he was wandering through nightmares, through invisible demons that none of them could see.

Celty's 'shadows' reached out and felt around Izaya, probing him. She tapped into her phone quickly, 'Izaya's having bad nightmares. Nightmares of his past. We can't help him. They're so strong that he'll have to recover from them alone.'

"DAMMIT!" Shizuo cried. "Why does he have to be so human?"

"Shizuo, not everyone is as strong as you," Shinra reminded.

"I know, that, dammit," Shizuo huffed, running a hand through his blond locks as he sat down beside the flea's bed. "It's just so confusing, how this flea has made me feel all these different emotions. One second I hate him, the next I worry about him? This is all so strange. But still, what could the flea be going through?" He mumbled.

Shinra and Celty had left the room to give Shizuo the space he needed to watch over his newfound friend, Izaya.

'Dammit, flea...you'd better get well, soon, or else I'll kick the crap out of you and wake you up!'

* * *

_Izaya was falling, falling through nothing but black. An endless stream of black, reeling before his eyes. He couldn't grab onto anything, he couldn't even control his own body. He didn't know what was going on at all. The informant was quite stressed. Finally, he fell to the ground, knee-deep in inky black. "Where am I?" He said, but his voice echoed around wherever he was._

_"Am I...in my mind?" He mused, looking around. He gasped. He recognized these surroundings very well. He was back there...back at Privet Drive, with those awful people, his biological aunt and uncle, unfortunately deceased, he thought with a smirk on his face. Slowly, he got up and walked over, realizing that he was still himself, 24-year old Izaya Orihara, rather than a young Harry Potter. How could this be? At this age, he was still a naive, easily manipulated fool. _

_"I suppose I must be dreaming this," He remarked, noting that somehow no one could see him or hear him. He was invisible in this world of memories. All he could do was watch his past unfold. He sighed. "I don't really want to do this," He remarked again upon seeing a blond pig come charging out of the house towards his uncle and get embraced in a fatherly hug._

_He saw himself, lying down, busy pulling up weed after weed in the garden. He was ignored by his uncle, of course. He was used to that. Izaya couldn't help but laugh at how skinny and weak he looked. Had he really once been that weak, that even weeding made him tired? Well, the child in front of him appeared to be no older than six or seven. _

_He suddenly froze, as a very familiar enemy appeared before his young self: it was his good old Aunt Marge, holding her dog, Ripper, who growled at him, at both versions of him. How could the memory of a dog sense him? _

_'This is weird,' He thought. _

_"There you are, you pathetic excuse of a human being," Marge growled, kicking a young Izaya hard. Izaya cursed out loud as suddenly his own sides started to hurt. _

_"What the hell?" He cried. "**This isn't** happening to me! Why am I feeling this?" _

_He watched his younger self struggle on the ground, struggle to get back up, and then the dog came charging toward him and grabbed his arm and started to bite and tear at his young arm. Izaya felt a searing pain come through his own hand. He could swear he saw red drip from his younger self's arm. He had to resist the urge to throw up upon seeing some of his muscle tissue from how badly severed his arm was._

_"Dammit, why isn't he dead?" Vernon cried, glaring at the young boy who was crying out in pain. _

_Aunt Petunia reluctantly applied a bandage. Sighing, she turned to Vernon. "We have to take him to the hospital. Without his arm, he'll be no good at chores." _

_"Yeah, you're right," Vernon remarked, scornfully kicking the young boy and then throwing him into the car, allowing him to bleed all over the seat. "Stupid boy, you're bleeding all over my nice car!" _

_"I just want help..." He whined, a pathetic snivelling voice that made Izaya cringe. Was he really such a whiny, wimpy crybaby? No wonder Ron and Hermione had found it so easy to betray him. IF he really had been so naive back then, it certainly explained how Dumbledore was able to control him so easily. _

_Sighing, he watched as everything fell into black again and then he was falling, falling, once more...into another memory. The memory of the Triwizard Tournament. He shuddered, and felt icy cold seep over his bones. This was it...this was the day he hated most to recall, the day where his whole world had shattered into pieces._

_"No..." He whimpered, trying hard to stop the pain from hurting him. But it was no good. All he could do was watch. _

_"Harry Potter..." Came the cold voice of the old man, Albus Dumbledore as he read the name off the pamphlet that had come out of the Goblet of Fire. "Come up here, my boy."_

_Izaya flipped the man off, but watched his younger self come curiously up, his hands tightening around something in his pocket. He saw a glint of metal and realized it was his knife. How had he gotten that at such a young age? _

_"Ha ha!" Izaya cried, but of course no one heard him. _

_He sighed and allowed the memory to play out. _

_"...Sir, I didn't put my name in the Goblet." Harry said, wondering why the old man was looking at him with such disinterested eyes. Why didn't he care enough to say something? He could hear all the whispers as he was led back to his table._

_"You must take part in this, my boy." _

_"But I don't want to!" He cried. Every table in the Great Hall was filled with intermittent silence as every occupant turned their gazes upon Harry. He could feel their cold stares on his back and wondered why they hated him so. _

_"Stop it!" He cried, "I don't want to do this bloody tournament anyway!"_

_"What a disgrace to Gryffindor he is," He heard Madam Maxime say, "Hogwarts has really lowered its standards lately."_

_"Potter is just being a selfish, spoiled brat. But that is all too typical of Potter. Potter, sit down, and 30 points from Gryffindor."_

_The Gryffindor house glared at him and everyone moved away from him when he made to sit down. _

_"What the hell?" He cried. "What's wrong with you people?"_

_"You're such an egotistical prat," Dean remarked, "You have the nerve to back out of a great tournament like this?" Instantly, he pushed Harry into the table and the rest of the Gryffindors laughed, mockingly. Everyone but Hermione. Even Ginny and Ron were laughing at him. _

_"Potter's done it again," Malfoy mocked._

_"Shut the hell up, Malfoy," Harry muttered._

_"Mr. Potter, 20 points from Gryffindor for such language, and I'm assigning you to a weeks' worth of detention from me!" _

_The whole Hall was laughing now and no one made a move to stop them. Harry's cheeks burned red in embarrassment and he started to cry loudly. He ran out of the Great Hall, only to be cornered by Dean and Seamus, both of whom started to laugh at him and curse him out. _

_They kicked him and punched him. All of a sudden, Harry couldn't take this. He found something about this strangely...amusing. He started to chuckle until he was laughing out loud, laughing hysterically. The two boys looked at each other and then ran, with Snape appearing. _

_"Potter, why are you terrorizing students?"_

_No one ever believed Harry whenever it came to Snape's bullying. He knew that by now. _

_Izaya blinked as he felt the blood stream down his head from the wound his younger self had acquired and watched as his younger self cried as he wrote out the final message to the rest of Hogwarts and then left. Then he found himself falling into the final memories of his life as Harry Potter and then how he had changed into himself. _

* * *

_-3 months after leaving Hogwarts...-_

_"Oh and I certainly don't suffer from schizophrenia. I enjoy every moment of it. And so do I..." _

_Harry Potter sighed as he kicked pebbles down a street he was currently walking down on. He had lost count of how long it had been since he had run away from Hogwarts. It had definitely been a few months. He spent his time stealing from dumpsters and sleeping out on the streets. He had learned how to fight a little, as well. _

_The nearly fifteen-year old yawned and stretched as he sat on a bench in southern England. All he had to do was hike a little while longer and then he had discovered a boat that he could smuggle himself aboard that was headed to Asia and then he could disappear there. The thought of being able to disappear satisfied him very much, and he could feel a surge of excitement rise through him._

_His scar was barely visible, and his once smiling face was now cold and dark, with a few smirks every now and again. He had seen a doctor about his head injury and they had healed it up for him. His hair was spikier now and less recognizable. In fact, he had walked right past Ron Weasley and he had not recognized his 'frined' because he had changed into Muggle outfits so much. _

_Scratching his hair with one hand, he lazily surveyed all the all the other humans around him. He had become __**quite fascinated **__with humans lately. They were much more interesting than the dimwitted, fossilized wizards, who would never survive the next evolution. His intelligence seemed to have spiked up a bit since he had left that damned school. "I wonder if that man used some mind control on me or something," He mumbled and then chuckled darkly before playing with the blade in his pocket. He was quite fond of it._

_Sighing, he waited for the boat to show up. That was when he noticed a couple, arguing. "Oh, this is gonna be ~great~," He mumbled, sitting up eagerly, his green eyes alight with interest. He no longer thought of himself as Harry Potter, there never was a Harry Potter to begin with, only a tool and a stupid fool. Well, no longer, now he was the lover of humans, the watcher. If only he could think of a new name for himself. He frowned, trying to decide on one. Hmm...how about...Kanra? He liked that name. But it sounded girly. Psyche? No, that sounded too stupid._

_Sighing, he stood up and walked over to the feuding couple, amused._

_"I'm telling you to stop being a lazy bum and get a job for our kid!"_

_"But honey, I'm involved in work. I can't-"_

_"My, my, don't you two think you'd stop acting like unruly children now? I mean, you're not setting a great image~," He purred, watching them in fascination._

_"Who are you to barge into our conversation?" They demanded._

_"I'm just one who points out the innate stupidity of humans. You two are the perfect model of stupidity." He said as he burst out laughing hysterically. The other two sensed there was something off about him and ran off._

_"That's right, run away, little humans, run away now...HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" He cried, laughing at the top of his lungs as he practically danced his way onto the ship and to freedom. Oh, he kept a good cover all right. Though he did get seasick a little bit. But he managed to stay out of sight. He was good at that in particular. _

_The boy awoke to bright sunlight, and realized he was in Korea, of all places. It wouldn't take him too long to get to Japan. He smirked and continued on his way. On his way, he ran across a thug who tried to mob him. He smirked and simply stabbed the man to death, kicking his corpse without a care. "Your fault for being in my way," He said with a wry chuckle._

_Little did he know a man was watching him, a tall man with dark hair who was quite curious about the boy before him. 'What a fascinating boy. His Japanese is amateurish, but his insanity is appetizing. I should watch him. He'd be the perfect protegé.'_

* * *

_Several months later, Shinjuku, Japan-_

_16-year old 'Harry' traveled the streets, bored out of his wits. He had already gotten surgery to hide his scar, broken his glasses and now wore contacts. Red ones. He liked them. No more remarks about those stupid green eyes. He could now officially be himself. "I haven't even found a name for myself now, have I?" He mumbled._

_"You don't know who you are?" A tall, bald man said before him. "I can relate, kid. You see, people like us...we're low in the food chain, so everyone else looks down on us."_

_"You can tell that I'm a criminal?" He said._

_"You're definitely the type. It's the rest of the world that's nuts. It's okay to do what you feel is right, kid. What's your name? I work for the Awakusu-kai and I think you have what it takes to become a member of their services."_

_The boy's eyes lit up. "I see...but the thing is, I have no name right now. I abandoned my birth name. Hmm...hang on a second..." He glanced around and then his gaze wandered over to a church that had a quote from Isaiah the prophet on it. 'Isaiah? Hmm...that gives me an idea. Isaya...? No. Wait...what about __**Izaya? That's **__perfect. I'll be the human who stands above my beloved humans and I'll give them the knowledge they seek for a price.'_

_"I'm Izaya," He said, "Nice to meet you." And thus, Izaya Orihara was born from the smoldering remains of the dead Harry Potter. He had no use for Magical crap._

_-Several months later, Raira Academy-_

_Izaya Orihara skipped down the hallways of Raira High, attracting a few stares from the girls. "Yo~, Dotttta-chinnn~, whatcha doing?"_

_The said student froze. "Izaya...what do you want?" _

_"Ha ha, why are you treating me like I'm a disease? I just wanted to say hello!" Izaya purred._

_"Izaya, screw off. If this is one of your games, I'm not interested."_

_"Oh, Dota-chin...you're so mean. But it's fun~! It involves pranking Shinra!"_

_"I heard that, Izaya." The brown-haired boy complained, glaring at his smirking best friend._

_"Ha ha, so you know, Shinra," Izaya said, "Not like I'd ever do anything bad."_

_"Hey, Izaya, I'm gonna introduce you to one of my friends at lunch."_

_At lunch, Izaya shuffled through the Daily Prophet, bored beyond belief. "What new bullshit are they cooking about me now? Ah, they think I'm in Azkaban, this one thinks I'm hiding with Death Eaters, this one thinks I'm dead, and Dumbass is once again criticizing me. Well, here's my message, go burn in hell, you bastard!" Izaya said, before ripping the piece with Dumbledore's face off and crushing it with his foot. "How do you like that, old man? That's what I'll do to you someday! HA HA HA HA HA!"_

_"Izaya, what the hell are you doing?" Shinra said._

_Izaya froze. "Nothing, I got over-excited, is all."_

_"Ooh, Prophet? Let me read it."_

_Izaya's face turned pale. "No way, Shinra. It's nothing you'd like. It's garbage." He saidbefore ripping the newspaper up and scattering it off the roof. "Now it's gone."_

_"You're cruel like always," Shinra wailed, "By the way, I invited my best friend, Shizuo, to come have lunch with us. Be careful, he has a temper."_

_"Ooh, is he a jock? This sounds quite fun~"_

_"Izaya, no!"_

_"Shinra, stop talking about me, dammit."_

_Izaya turned his head upon seeing a big blond boy looking at them in discomfort. "Is this your friend?"_

_"I'm Izaya Orihara, nice to meet you, Shizuo. That's your name, right?" He said, smiling._

_"Yeah," Shizuo said, though he didn't shake his hand, "I don't like you."_

_"I think I'll call you Shizu-chan," Izaya smirked as he stood up to face Shizuo, who looked pissed. "I hate you too, monster Shizu-chan!"_

_"DIE, YOU ASSHOLE!"_

_Shinra screamed as his two best friends practically devastated the roof with their first of many tussles._

_"Shinra, take care of this problem for me! BYE!" Izaya chirped as he jumped straight off the roof and darted out of sight._

_"How the fuck did he do that?" Shizuo said._

_"He knows parkour," Shinra said, "He's very athletic."_

_"That guy's a psychopath."_

_"That's Izaya for you-"_

_"WHO MADE THIS MESS ON THE ROOF? SHIZUO, HOW COULD YOU?"_

_"IT WAS IZAYA WHO DID IT, DAMMIT!""_

_"Izaya is a prodigy. Your lies are ridiculous."_

_Izaya smirked out of sight. "Looks like I win this round, Shizu-channnn~" _

_Slowly, he awoke...out of his dreams..._

_"Flea..." _

_Who was that? _

_"Flea..."_

_"FLEA!" _

And Izaya awoke, in time to see Shizu-chan standing over him. "Shizu-chan...it was nothing," He mumbled.

"Damned straight it wasn't." Shizuo mumbled. "Tell me everything you dreamt of."


	31. Chapter 31 The pieces fall into place

A/N:Time for the next chapter. I apologize for a bit of a delay in updating. It was only just now that the following chapter found me and made its way through my brain. I hope you enjoy it as I attempt to piece together what occurred in my head onto paper and form words!

Chapter 31 The Pieces fall into place

Fred and George Weasley were certainly far from the stupid pranksters they portrayed themselves to be. Oh, sure, they acted like they were so stupid and childish and only cared for tricks; but, no, no that was merely a facade for their true selves. In reality, they were probably some of the smartest wizards around. After all, it would have to take a brilliant mind to be able to pull off some of the stunts they did.

Combine that with two brilliant minds, and what you got for Hogwarts was nothing but chaos and disarray. The Weasley twins were so unpredictable that even Dumbledore couldn't keep them under his control, and they knew that pissed off the old man, more than anything else.

But their lives had been forever changed and thrown off the train tracks when their brother's best friend, Harry Potter, simply disappeared. He had run away, left behind pieces of his wand and had but a brief note disparaging all of the wizards, telling them how he would join the Death Eaters. That was the last anyone heard from Harry Potter, including Fred and George.

Or so they thought. In reality, Harry was merely living another life, under another guise and falling further and further into the inner darkness that was now dwelling within his soul, evaporating everything else that was good within him. He was busy doing his own twisted, corrupt things.

* * *

"You know, I wonder what that idiot's doing," Fred said to George one day while they were in class, in year 7. It had been exactly one year since he had disappeared. The whole school was rife with rumors over the boy, their savior, the boy-who-lived, whatever the hell you wanted to call him. Some thought he was an idiot who deserved what he got, others felt bad for him and blamed the world for his misery.

But no one ever thought of blaming Dumbledore. No, no one would ever have the gall to think that! Except for the Weasley twins, whose distrust of the old man grew stronger and stronger the longer they stayed near him and their parents. They didn't see why their parents trusted in his word so much, and thought of him as a very dangerous, suspicious individual.

For some reason, they had learned of their parents' nefarious schemes regarding Harry. Now suddenly stuff made sense. So Harry had run away after learning of these betrayals? No wonder he'd left.

Still, their hearts healed from the wound of their loss and now Harry Potter was forgotten by the Wizarding World, only spoken of as a living ghost or an anathema upon the world. Children would be told by their parents to never become a Harry Potter and run away, the Daily Prophet enjoyed slandering the missing boy to their hearts' content, and the saddest thing was, they knew, knew he wasn't capable of joining the Death Eaters. There was no way.

-Nine years later, at a coffee shop in Ikebukuro-

* * *

For a few moments, they were stunned. Who was this dark-haired muggle who seemed to know them? Why had he flinched upon seeing them and why did he make an effort to get away?

"How did you get that mark on your head?" Fred blurted out suddenly to the young man, who was currently talking on his cell phone to someone in rapid Japanese. He ignored him and continued his conversation. Then he paused.

"Oh...this mark?" He said, "I got it a long time ago...probably when I was about...hmmm...maybe fourteen or fifteen years old? That was around...nine years ago, yes." He gave a slight shrug and returned to talking on his phone.

Fred and George Weasley both gasped as they studied the stranger before them, taking in his clothes, his demeanor, and his entire being before their minds came to an undeniable truth-

"...H-Harry?" They said.

No reaction came from the dark-haired man, who laughed and continued his conversation. "I'm sorry, Dota-chin...but I'm afraid I'm done listening to you curse my existence. Well, talk to you later! Ja ne~." He put his phone aside and turned to study them for a few moments before a stern look overtook his features.

"Shut up. There's a cafe over there, we can talk over a cup of nice tea and some ootoro, no?" He said, and then he had strided off, whistling to himself.

Now that was where the Weasley boys found themselves, both looking at menus and trying to decide what they wanted while the young man they thought was Harry (note, thought) was busy chattering away to the waitress and flirting with her before their eyes.

"...You know, I think your friend is cheating on you, Emily-san. You really are an idiot if you can't notice that!" He said before chuckling fondly, smirking boldly.

Who was this person before them? This definitely wasn't Harry Potter. It was not him. It couldn't be. The boy they knew wasn't this rude, wasn't this flippant.

"...Harry?" They said.

The young man paused, and waved a hand dismissively at them. "Not right now." He said sharply, before turning to resume his conversation with the girl, talking rapidly.

He then paused once he had finished chatting with her and took a sip of his tea. "Look," He said sharply, his crimson eyes focused directly on them. "...I understand what you must think, but I am not interested in whatever you fools have to say. So if you could just shut the hell up, that'd be most appreciated." He spat coldly.

When they didn't respond, he just smiled. "Good, I knew we'd all be able to get along~" He chirped. "And by the way, my name now is Izaya Orihara. I'm an informant now."

"An...informant?" They said, in complete disbelief, unable to believe that this cold, contemptuous, arrogant and distant young man before them could really be Harry Potter. "But...what about...your duties?"

"Duties?" He laughed lightly. "...Don't fool around with me. Those things died the moment Harry Potter ceased to exist. So you'd be better off referring to him as what he wants to be called by. That's really what you need to know. Besides, what point is there in serving a two-faced society like that? Something like that can really drive you nuts..."

They were startled by his cold nature, but didn't know how to respond to such a statement. So they let Izaya talk about himself, which seemed to be his favorite subject. And as they did, they learned more and more about this strange new boy who seemed to have replaced their best friend.

But what he did to their friend Hermione took the cake. They couldn't stand seeing her crying so, so much and moaning over how cruel and sadistic he had become, as she confessed to them alone. She cried about how cruel both Harry and Ron had become. They tried to reassure her the best they could, but in the end they decided it was best to sever ties with Izaya for now.

For now, until he became the boy they all knew still existed within him, that happy, cheery, smiling boy. The one who loved everyone, the one who was willing to give up everything to protect those he cared about, and those who cared about him.

Then they would smile again and laugh, just like they used to. Nothing would have changed. Nothing, except...that some things are just mere dreams, and that this is one of them.

"Hi~, there, Fred-san, George-san. Doing well today, yes?"

There came the annoying voice of the one who had destroyed their best friend. Izaya was standing there, smirking with that same annoying grin on his face.

"You've become what you hate most, you realize. You've become like Malfoy and Voldemort."

Izaya paused for a moment, tilting his head in confusion. What the hell were they getting at? Malfoy? Oh, he didn't care about him. In fact, they'd probably get along now-oh, no wait there was just that small matter of him being responsible for Lucius Malfoy's death.

"It won't be long, Izaya. Someday, you're going to be found." They repeated, grating on Izaya's nerves even more. To hell with that. To hell with that plan! That would never, never, never happen! The wizards were too goddamned idiotic. They never wanted to leave their home, he knew it too well. Plus Kida would keep his mouth shut, Kida wasn't an idiot, and now that he knew Izaya was a human, he would feel bad for him and not blab.

Izaya's brow twitched, ever so slightly, and then he smirked, broadly. "Oh? And what-makes you so _sure of that, hmmm?" _

"Because Hermione told us. She's going to tell Dumbledore soon. It's over."

Izaya started to laugh hysterically. "I don't think so. I think you'll find that...she...has...very...little time left in this world." He said as he laughed and ran off, leaving both of them staring at each other in wonder.

"What the bloody hell did he mean by that?" Fred said out loud. George just shrugged. Both of them were used to such madness by now.

* * *

Meanwhile-

"You honestly thought you could escape, 'Mione? Well, tell me now. What was so important that you had to put off making dinner?" Ron's voice, cold, snide, mocking. Why hadn't she ever noticed how terrifying this man was? Why had she been so blind?

"...I know...something that Dumbledore needs to know. Our entire world is in danger. Someone is going to destroy all of us...if we don't do something. He will do it...he means to..." Hermione said. "A Muggle will..."

"What utter nonsense," Ron said as he slapped his wife, hard. "...Well, 'Mione, I'm sorry to say this, but Dumbledore told me: time's up. For you, that is. You see, I'm to be the savior now. What that means is, what use have I for you?"

Hermione struggled against her husband's grasp, but to no avail. She knew nothing but blackness as the end came all too quickly.

Ron smiled. Everything was over. He could be a hero to the Wizarding World. He could be...then he took in Hermione's body and realized what he'd done. What the hell had he done to mess up this badly? He had wounded his own best friend, spied on him, become a turncoat, become a greedy, selfish bastard, and for what? This?

He'd killed his own wife, his own, precious Hermione. She was gone. She wouldn't wake. He shook her, but she was unmoving. She was gone. Ron screamed and cried into her motionless corpse. "What the hell is wrong with me? What have I done? What have I become? Because of me, Mione is...Mione is...dead..."

Who had done this? No, it was more like, who caused him to do this? The answer was simple: Dumbledore. Every ounce of loyalty he possessed for that man vanished and was replaced by cold, steaming rage. Ronald Bilius Weasley had never felt more foolish in his entire life.

"It's all _your fault. _You made me kill her. You made me betray Harry. I will never forgive you for how you split all three of us apart. I will find you and kill you, for Hermione's sake, for Harry's sake." Wait...suppose it was possible...was it really, truly possible that Harry was alive?

Oh, god, it was obvious. Hermione...she'd been in touch with Harry, hadn't she? It made perfect sense. Where was he? Where? But for now, he put those thoughts aside in favor of a new, more malicious, goal.

"Dumbledore..." He hissed, "You will pay for what you've done."

Albus Dumbledore smirked as he sat in his office. Ah, yes, now things were proceeding according to his plans. Ron would be the perfect new puppet for the Wizarding World, an ideal way to keep their trust in him while he worked on destroying Voldemort and eventually, he would dispose of Ron as well. It was a sad story, but that was the ultimate fate that awaited all his toys in the end.

He smiled then as Ron came back. "Ah, I trust you disposed of Hermione as I asked?"

What he wasn't expecting was for Ron to grab him and throw him back against the wall. "What the hell is wrong with you? We worked for you, you promised us freedom from Voldemort, you promised us money, you promised us fame, happiness, and what I get is this! You've made me a murderer!"

"So? You will kill Voldemort, as well, Ronald. Be calm and put me down, now. You don't wish to toy with me."

"Toys, huh? So that's what we are to you, is it? Harry, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Ginny, and even my own mother? We're all just little tools in your game, Dumbledore! How can you use wizards like this? It's warped! And what you had me do to Hermione...and now...Harry..." He sobbed while he talked.

"Mr. Weasley, calm down. As you remember, the plan with the late Mr. Potter was simple. All we had to do was watch him, control him and when the time was right, have him mate with Ginevra-"

He was cut off by the hard blow to his jaw.

"Is that all you see of my sister? Is she just a mere brooding mare to you? That's not what Ginny is. She's my sister, and I'll be damned if I ever let you poison her with your lies. Why can't my mother and father see through you? Percy did, he was smart-"

"Percival was always an arrogant brat, just like you, Ronald. But you were so easy to control. Harry, and Hermione, however, were not, which is why I took necessary precautions to make sure the three of you did not spend all year long together-"

"You deprived Harry of a normal family, of love, and happiness! What did you think this would do?" Ron cried, and then dropped Dumbledore, too overwhelmed. He sobbed hysterically, now a broken man facing his oppressor. "Why? Why did you do this to all of us?"

"Why? For the Greater Good. Voldemort must be stopped. For you see...he too wishes to oppose me. And for that, he must go. And so will any who stand in my way. It's a shame the Dursleys died. Perhaps you should have been sent there. They would have taught you good manners. Yes, very good manners, indeed." Dumbledore said. "Now, forget this ever happened. _Obliviate! _You will not remember disobeying me, and Hermione has died in a tragic accident!"

Ron got back up, defiant. "_No," _He said, "I will _not _forget about her, just like I won't forget about what you've don-"

The door opened then and a stunned McGonagall stood there, unable to believe her eyes. "What is going on here?"

* * *

Izaya Orihara smirked as he moved another piece across his chess board. "Hmm...so she has died. Oh, well, she was of no use anyway...off to another one..."

"Who taught you to play chess?" Namie asked in boredom.

"An old friend of mine," Izaya drawled, "One who I now consider an enemy and wish to eliminate. But maybe he is still loyal. A loyal pawn who shall obey my every desire. HA HA HA, he's like the Kida I wish I had!" He laughed then as he knocked one of the pawns to the ground and crushed it.

"That's one down...how many more pieces will it take for my game to truly begin?" He said darkly. "Oh, I'm in a good mood today."

Kida opened the door. "Izaya, I-" He paused upon seeing the board upturned and half the pieces on the floor. "I'm not even going to ask what happened here, Izaya."

"Ha ha, Masaomi-kun, come on in now! I do have some plans I'd like to discuss with you..."

**Okay, so now I've officially turned one of the most popular clichés on its side: Weasley Bashing. It's fun at first, but then it just becomes old. Ron is loyal, something many fans love to forget. Unfortunately, it took the loss of Hermione, to become the old Ron we all love. Now Dumbledore has others against him. Will the Weasley family fight with Izaya or not? Personally I love fics where they fight with him. **


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N:Well, my roleplaying is going very well, but I have not forgotten about this story. I'm so glad Ron has made a turn in his behavior and stopped being a jerk. Well, I sort of planned for that to happen, so I'm glad it did. Anyhow, time for a bit of a little short flashback about Kida and what he thinks of Izaya. XD Things may get a bit serious now! So let's dive in!**

**Chapter Thirty Two Kida's recollection**

* * *

Kida wasn't entirely sure what to think of his boss, Izaya Orihara. Saki had recommended him because the informant knew an ungodly amount of information on just about everyone and everything that happened in Ikebukuro, but never did he dream the man would be this..._odd. _Even though he wouldn't dare voice that out loud, for he had seen how Izaya's temper could change at any time.

First of all, he had noticed how Izaya was so preoccupied with calling people 'pawns' and it kind of unsettled him, but he decided that maybe that was just Izaya's way of referring to things and let it be. He didn't dare ask him any weird questions. He had made those mistakes before, and he had seen the informant's temper flare up at the weirdest of times. Especially if it referred to something out of the ordinary...

He remembered the time he had happened to bring up some sort of show going on downtown. He couldn't remember what it had been anymore, but when he thought about it, he could suddenly remember the first time Izaya had ever gotten angry with him, and it was not a very pleasant memory. Now that he knew Izaya's side of the story, things made sense, but back then Izaya Orihara was a huge enigma to Kida Masaomi.

When the man smiled, it felt, welcoming, at least at first. But then later on, it seemed rather...empty. Izaya's smile felt like there was nothing behind it, like it was merely that of a demon in human form trying to imitate human thoughts and feelings. Someone who was incapable of feeling things for others; it was later on that he would discover Izaya was a sociopath.

"Hey, Izaya, I'm here. You should have seen the line for the magic store downtown." Kida joked as he came in the door. He paused upon seeing that the young man just looked unamused, rather than smirking like usual or laughing.

"Magic, huh?" He said before he laughed hollowly. "Magic _doesn't exist, _Masaomi-kun. Please don't say such nonsense in my presence ever again."

Kida looked at him for a few moments in surprise. "Is this some sort of joke, Izaya? I mean, even you have to believe in magic, am I right?"

He glared at him. "When I think of magic, I think of bullshit. I think of impossible things, unreal things, Masaomi-kun. Things that can't happen. Magic is merely a childish way of trying to control the environment around us. That's all it is."

Kida stared at the informant for a moment, uncomprehending about what he was trying to say. He watched as Izaya took out his chess board and played around with it. "...What do you mean, Izaya? I don't get it."

That answer seemed to only irritate the informant. His upper lip curled, as though remembering something very unpleasant. Something he'd like to forget, and at that moment, for the first time, Kida saw a look of-fear and utter loathing-pass over Izaya's face before he regained his composure.

"...Well, let's just say that here, we do _not _talk about bullshit like that. That's all, Masaomi-kun. We wouldn't want you to get in trouble now, right? Imagine, someone like Masaomi-kun believing in magic, of all things? What a joke!"

"I was joking," Kida said, "But there was a magic show downtown. I'm not lying about that part."

"Masaomi-kun, just stop talking. Right now." Izaya said, his eyes closed and his grin still in place, but Kida could tell by his tone that Izaya was angry. Angry...over what, exactly? Magic? But why would something that innocuous offend someone?

"Izaya, I have something to ask."

Izaya was now sipping tea and leaning back in his chair, his eyes on his laptop. "Yes, what is it, my dear Masaomi?" He said condescendingly.

Kida bit back the retort that was about to spill over his lips and instead asked something he instantly regretted asking, "...Hey, Izaya, how are your parents?"

The informant obviously had not been expecting such a question, as he dropped the book he was holding in his hands and it fell to the ground with a loud thud, and he paused, "...What kind of question is that, Kida-kun? Don't you think you're not to ask an informant his secrets, hmmm?"

"I-I was just wondering, is all..." Kida said.

Izaya frowned at him, "So, how are your parents, hmm? I heard they left you when you were a little boy. And how did that feel, hmm? I bet it was ~very painful, wasn't it?" He jibed.

"Shut up!" Kida cried. "...This is what I hate about you."

"Hate, huh? So you hate me, is that right, Kida-kun...?" The informant chuckled darkly as he got up from his chair and advanced on a terrified Kida. "...It's expected from a human, after all. That's what all humans are like, full of hate and vicious emotions. That's why they're so fun to toy with and use."

"...Izaya, who are you, really?"

"What did I say about unnecessary questions, Kida-kun?" Izaya said sharply, his crimson eyes gleaming in anger.

Kida shivered upon seeing the gleam of the silver blade Izaya now held in his hand. "...Fine. I guess I won't ask any more of these questions."

"Good, good to know!" Izaya purred. "Next time you'll know not to ask!" He chirped.

Now that he looked back on it, maybe he had been a bit of a fool for pressing Izaya's buttons like that, but hey, he had been a little kid back then. A kid with no knowledge of Izaya's true nature.

Still, that didn't mean he didn't still dislike Izaya. He did. Suffering in the past was no excuse to be such a jackass to others, but somehow Izaya loved to hold that up as an excuse for what he did.

Speaking of which, there he was with his hands in his pockets. "Hello, Masaomi-kun~" He chirped unnaturally.

"Screw off," Was Masaomi's only response, but upon receiving a glare from Shizuo, flinched. "Er, I mean, h-hi Izaya!"

"That's the right answer, Kida-kun!" Izaya chirped.


	33. Chapter 33 Mika's story

**A/N:I'm about to explore reality of the Durarara verse through a character everyone hates, Mika Harima. I personally really like her character and wish there was more emphasis on her in the series. I don't think she should be with a guy like Seiji, but she made that choice of her own free will, so who am I to judge, hmm? Mika is also older in this series than in canon. Just saying. It's what makes sense. **

* * *

**Chapter 33 Through the eyes of Mika**

People often thought Harima Mika was stupid. After all, what kind of person would be insane enough to chase after a boy and stalk him to the point of even being near-death? Mika knew the looks she got in the hallway, knew the whispers and stares she had gotten, the whispers of those words that got to her, even if she pretended to not notice or hear them.

"Whore."

"Yagiri-san deserves better."

"Stalker. She has no morals. Who does she think she is?"

Everywhere. They were everywhere. She couldn't avoid them. But she didn't care. She had long since grown used to hearing people talk down about her. Though sometimes, her mind would drift back to when she was a young girl and her parents actually seemed to care for her. They used to let her go wherever she wanted, buy whatever she wanted, and they all seemed happy together.

But gradually, Mika came to realize the love her mother and father held for her was 'fake.' It was love out of the things she bought, out of the money she made for them. They didn't love her as an individual. She had known that from the time she had grown to be a teen and 'accidentally' overheard them talking about her engagement to a boy she didn't even know, much less like.

Her world had felt a little less happy then. But Mika had done her best to keep smiling, no matter what happened. She had agreed to the marriage, and then when the boy had shown up, had promptly said no and turned him down. For the first time, she saw her parents get angry with her. For the first time, she saw hatred in their eyes, and was hit by her father for the first time.

She never believed she could see such hate and fury in his gentle eyes. But her eyes were awoken to reality on that day. The day that she had decided to turn her back on her parents' perception of love and find her own meaning of it. And if that meant finding her own love, then she would do it.

* * *

_"So, it's all set up, Mika honey. You're going to be married to him, and everything will be okay. Don't you worry about a thing. He has money, you're not worried about that, are you?" _

_Mika blinked and looked at them. Why were they doing this to her? She was still young, still a child. She didn't want to be married to some guy she barely knew. Who did they think they were to determine her life for her? She spoke up then, sharply, like she usually did when fending the bullies off of Anri and making herself look better. _

_"No." _

_This word seemed to freeze time. Her parents didn't speak, they looked at her in disbelief. _

_"No, what, Mika dear? We can select someone who's better-looking." _

_"I don't __**want to **__marry him! I don't like this! I don't want to!" She cried out, allowing her anguish for the world to be seen and felt. Surely her parents would listen to her. _

_Her father scoffed. "Mika, this is for your own good. You know we love you-"_

_"No, you don't! You only love me because I can provide money for you! That's all it's been from the start! Right? I don't like this, I don't want to marry him!" _

_She barely registered the pain for a moment as her cheek was hit, hard, until red blood trickled down her fingers. "W-Why?" _

_"What a disappointment you are. I would've thought my daughter would be proud to receive an opportunity like this." Her father spoke coldly, like daggers that tore through her flesh. _

_"...Indeed, this will look bad on our family name if you don't marry him. This isn't something for you to decide. Now put your head down and act like a good girl. He loves you and you will love him." _

_"No," She hissed, glaring at her parents. Where were the loving, kind parents she once knew? Her reality shattered, she fled to her room, crying the entire way. The preppy, arrogant girl who acted so tough was no more. That had all been a facade. _

_"Anri..." She moaned as she dialed her friend's number, or was it a tool? "Anri, please, listen to me. I want to stay over at your house tonight." _

_Anri listened, like she usually did, but didn't do much of anything else. As if Mika expected anything more from her. Anri understood how bad parents could be. But Anri didn't have to live with them every day, she just had Saika. Someone whom she could make people love her with. Mika didn't have any of that. _

_"If that's the case," She said, grinding her fists into the carpet, "Then I'll just have to make a man love me. I'll have to find my own love. I don't care. Love is something I determine myself." _

_And thus began Mika's journey (and obsession) with love._

Mika could recall traveling overseas with her parents, and even venturing to England once in a while. She recalled once how she had seen a sight that had broken her heart.

_There was an ugly woman outside, yelling at a boy in another language, a scrawny, skinny boy with dark hair who looked anorexic. She started hitting him before Mika's eyes, and horrified, Mika had rushed in to make her stop hurting him. After all, that was what heroes were supposed to do, right? _

_"Leave him alone!" She cried. The woman understood none of what she said, and glared at her before storming into the house. The boy looked at her with shocked eyes. He said something that she didn't understand, but she understood he was afraid of her. Of being hurt. That saddened her. _

_"It's all right," She said, brushing his hair, "They won't always be there to hurt you. Don't be afraid. Someday, we'll meet again, boy." She hugged him then, leaving the young boy startled and confused. _

* * *

Sometimes, she wondered to herself, just what had happened to that sad, lonely young boy she'd met so many years ago. Was he happy now? Was he still alone and afraid? What was he like now? She highly doubted she'd ever see him again. In a way, she saw that same scared little boy in Seiji, which was why she cared for him, away from the arms of his wicked sister, the one who had no love for him in her evil heart.

"Where is he now?" She asked herself as she wandered around outside with Seiji, simply enjoying his company, his arm entwined with hers. Together, the city seemed to be a vague blur; an insignificant thing. Together, nothing else mattered.

"I'll always love you," He whispered to her. But she knew the second he found that vile head, he would leave her all alone. But it is no problem to Mika, she's always been alone. That's how her life always has been. It's why she feels bad for Anri. It's why she hates her so much, because she's always been alone.

Her eyes widened upon receiving a text from her benefactor, the one and only Izaya Orihara.

'_Hey, do you have time to talk, Mika-chan? Namie is out right now, so you don't have to fret.' _

Mika's eyes narrowed. Namie had already tried to kill her numerous times for being close with her brother. She supposed she should accept this invitation, for now. She didn't want tol leave Seiji now, but she supposed she had no choice.

She sighed and got up, leaving a sleeping Seiji behind.

She didn't know what to think of Izaya Orihara at first. The man was known for being a ruthless, if not insane, informant who was unpredictable and crazy in every way. She found him intriguing. There was just something beguiling about his madness, something that made you yearn to find out why his mind worked that way.

She still couldn't figure him out-and he couldn't figure out her.

"Hello there, Mika-chan. I'd like to thank you for all the bugs you installed. I had fun pulling them out," He said cheerfully.

"So you knew," She said stoically.

"My, my, such a mask you have. Admirable," He said, whistling slightly. "By the way, Mika-chan, do you remember, years ago, when you went to England?"

"Yeah, why?"

"And you saw a small boy being abused by his aunt and you saved him?"

"You knew this boy?" Mika asked.

He turned to her and smirked. "You're looking at him. You'd be surprised by the tale of the life I live, it's a life of always being alone. Except...hmm...maybe I have found someone."

"Who?" Mika asked, "Is it Celty?"

"Nope~," Izaya said happily, "He's a big protozoan. Shizu-channn."

Mika gaped, "You've certainly changed over the years."

"And so have you. So I invited you here, to kind of, thank you for what you did. That old hag is now dead. I killed her myself," He said proudly. "...How would you like to play a part in my game, Mika-chan?"


	34. Chapter 34 Painful reminders

**A/N:Well, Izaya's ideas keep on bugging me today for some reason...maybe it's because of all the Harry Potter stuff on my dash...or because today's Izaya's REAL birthday in my story. Either way, though, he doesn't like it, he doesn't care for it, so prepare for some angsting, courtesy of Izaya, Kida, and what not. This story is just in the middle and I have no plans to end it just yet, so let's flash back to Saki being wounded. **

* * *

**Chapter 34 Painful Reminders**

Kida Masaomi could safely say he hated hospitals, yes, even more than he hated Izaya, the bastard who was simply staring silently at the limp corpse of Saki as she lay there, unmoving, breathing faintly. Somehow, that little noise was enough to both reassure and anger him.

How dare Izaya sit there, not saying a word of apology to Saki, not saying a word about anything to him! Where was the apology for letting Kida down and allowing her to get hurt in the first place? Fury channeled up in him as he stared at the man, who had his back turned to him, who was silently studying everything, until he spoke, in a calm but quiet voice, unnaturally quiet for Izaya, which kind of startled Kida, "...So she's not dead. That's good, then. You can find a way...to...figure things out then, right?"

Izaya's words...they were...different...mocking, yet, yet...on edge, somehow. Kida blinked a few times, "Izaya-san, what are you saying...?" He said, his voice full of barely controlled rage.

"You're smart, you see, and that's why I like you...you're able to tell that what happened to her is all because of you. You didn't let your emotions get the better of you...I'm certain she's grateful for that. I can't wait until she wakes up..." Izaya spoke, growing louder and louder, but as Kida aimed a punch, the clever informant dodged lazily.

"You were right to be angry at me. It was all my fault, after all. I could've done something and yet I did nothing...I did nothing and we've gotta keep quiet. This is a hospital...I really hope she wakes up, instead of being in a coma..."

"What...do you mean...?" Kida said, shaking in anger, glaring at the informant, who still spoke in a bored tone.

"You know...you honestly hope that visiting here means you don't know what's going on? You'd be blamed for it for the rest of your life. If she dies and never opens her eyes again, that'd be a lifetimes' amount of guilt for you. So, whether she lives or dies...you're left with...guilt...unending guilt..." Izaya's voice sounded...mocking, yet at the same time, bitter, as though he knew the feeling well, as though he had been in a similar situation.

"Izaya-san...?" Kida asked, feeling both angry and confused at the strange tone the informant was taking with him.

Izaya knelt down to his side, "You can't escape it, you know? No matter where you go, no matter who you become, the past will follow you, even if you try to forget it all, even if you try to die...it will always be right there, chasing you down...chasing, chasing...and chasing you, over and over again..."

Kida was angered... "Shut up!" He screamed, aiming a punch at the informant, but his last words haunted him.

"...Do you know _why they haunt you? _Because..._it's lonely..._" He whispered, and there was such a distinct sense of _pain _in his voice that Kida, for a moment, thought Izaya was...Izaya was..._pitying him? _How laughable.

But when Kida jerked his head up to look at the informant's face, he gasped, jaw falling open, because what he saw had to be an illusion. Because Izaya was not smirking, not mocking him at all, rather there was a...foreign look to his features...his eyes were full of _sadness and loneliness, such palpable, such strong loneliness that Kida could feel it come flowing into him like a wave_, how could someone like this _exist, _carrying such emotions within them? It was absurd...and he almost thought he could see...something shining in his eyes...like..._tears?_

'This can't be real,' Kida thought, but Izaya saw him staring and smiled, but it was a smile that was not one, it was a fake one.

"...Because, Kida-kun..._I know what you're feeling. _I know it all _too well. _Yes, indeed, so many times I've just wanted to lose my memories of everything and just start anew, like you...even life for Izaya Orihara, the great informant, is not as it seems. We're all living in a fantasy, Kida-kun...it's just that some of us...are...more..._aware of it _than others..."

Why was his voice so human, so full of loneliness? The only way someone could live with such feelings without being overwhelmed by them was to be...yes, it was to be _insane. _

"STOP PRETENDING TO BE HUMAN!" Kida roared, slugging Izaya, allowing his tears to come dripping down his face.

Izaya touched his wounded cheek with his fingers, and laughed as Kida stormed away, crying up a storm. Izaya smirked as he watched his prey leave.

"...To think, here I tried to help him and he pushes me away...well, I'm used to that by now. The facade I put up is so strong that barely anyone can see through it...can they?" He said, and as he stared at his reflection, he saw something wet glistening against his cheeks and hitting the ground.

"...Am I..._crying?" _He whispered, staring at his tear-stained reflection in disbelief, even horror. "...T-That's impossible...because...I swore that from that day on, I would no longer feel human emotions, that I would no longer do such a silly, useless thing like cry...so _why _am I crying? Is it because I allowed her to get hurt and I feel bad...? How worthless of me. There's no point in feeling that way."

* * *

Izaya walked outside then, still crying a little but instead he laughed off his sadness, because at _this_ point he was so broken that laughing was one of the only things he could do to fight off _that_ side of him, the side he just wished would die.

He passed by a group of children gathering in awe around a poster, whispering, "Magic, magic," to each other and his nose crinkled in disgust. He found a poster at his feet.

It said: _Come today to see the grandest show around, the greatest proof that magic is real! It's a magic show! Your child will love to see the proof of magic in today's society and everyone needs to believe in it! Bring a little magic into your life-_

And as he stared at it, anger and rage built up within him and he tore it in two with his flickblade, and crumpled it up into pieces, and then stepped on it.

"How does that feel, hmmm? Do you feel the pain you put me through, you unnatural things...?" He hissed. Sighing then, he continued walking then, ignoring the stares of passersby and of Kida Masaomi as he walked over to the spot where the informant had been, picked up the pieces and stared at it, and then stared after the informant, puzzled and confused as to why something so harmless could enrage the seemingly emotionless informant.

* * *

"...So, Kida-kun, why are you interested in seeing me today?" Izaya asked the blond, who just snorted and refused to look at him.

"...I guess now I finally understand the meaning of what you said to me back then. Were you...were you...trying to help me?" He said darkly.

Izaya smirked. "In some ways, yes. It's best to see things with your own eyes before your entire heart and soul get ripped to pieces. If you put me in anything, I would say my description of myself would be as a broken soul with a warped mind...one who will never quite be human, yet dreams to be. But I'm happy as I am now, and I've found someone who accepts me, hmm~what about you, does Saki-san still satisfy your needs?"

Kida blinked, still unused to Izaya acting so openly human. "What's with you?" He said.

"Hm? Oh, is it not natural for people to feel, Kida-kun? I almost forgot, though. Please don't mention anything about Halloween to me. I don't like it."

"Why?" Kida asked, but when Izaya continued staring out the window of his office, he said, "Does it...have to do with your past?"

"...Yes, you could say it does," Izaya said softly, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "...But in other ways, I just detest the cheeriness of it, the artificialness of it...it's all...too...happy for my tastes." He said the word happy as though it were a curse.

"...Orihara becomes more human today, huh?" Namie snarked. "Can't say I'm surprised. You have been acting odd lately."

"Hmm, Namie-chan is right~and how about your brother and your feelings of incest for him~? That's illegal, isn't it? I mean, I certainly wouldn't want to make out with Mairu or Kururi-chan~it'd be simply evil, now, wouldn't it?"

Namie slammed the door shut and Kida's jaw dropped.

"I-Is that t-true?" He spoke up.

"Why, yes it is. That boy, Seiji-kun, who goes to your school...that is his sister, and she is angry that he has chosen a normal girl over her...she wanted him first..."

Kida turned white. "T-That's sick...undeniably sick..." He said.

"See what I mean? I'm not evil now, am I?" Izaya said.

Kida threw something at him. "...Not emotionless, no, but you're still an asshole. A lonely one. If you're so lonely, why don't you change your ways?" He snapped.

"...Because I can't, not anymore. I'm stuck the way I am, Kida-kun~. And I'm happy." Izaya chirped.

"...Hell no, you're not happy, you're nothing close to it. You're miserable being this way. Why don't you-" He said, but he stopped as two figures came racing in the room, and charged at Izaya.

"...IZA-NII!"

Izaya fell off his chair with a loud crash as Mairu and Kururi attacked him in a hug. "Let go of me...Mairu...I'm suffocating..."

"Yay, Iza-nii's suffocating!" Mairu chirped. "Oh, wait, that's not a good thing, is it? Anyway, we came to see you because we have something for you! We got her ashes like you asked!"

Izaya's eyes softened ever so slightly. "...Thank you, Mairu, Kururi. I truly appreciate it. I will keep her here, as a memento."

"Who?" Kida asked.

"Who else but our pet owl!" Mairu chirped. "You never knew about our amazing owl? She was everything, but she had to go up to heaven, right Kururi?"

"Yeah..." Kururi said sadly. "At least she wasn't in any pain."

"She had cancer, so we had to put her to sleep," Izaya said plainly. "My owl, that is."

"Owl? You Oriharas really are strange," Kida remarked, flinching as the two girls bounced up and down on the couch energetically.

"That's how we are," Izaya chirped, smiling at his sisters and for once, his smile looked genuine.


	35. Chapter 35 Goodbye Remus Lupin

**A/N:Time for the next chapter of this story! I look forward to your remarks on this chapter, sorry it's taken nearly a year. I've meant to catch up on this fanfic. Izaya will NOT be taking part in the war, he will merely be watching it all from the sidelines. It's about time another character got in on the action with Harry. Who better than Remus, the traitor? :D **

**Oh, and Ron might die soon, too, maybe making up for how he treated Izaya. All in favor of who you want me to kill off next, please vote in the new profile poll I'll be setting up. Shizaya is the pairing for this fanfic, by the way. **

**"You'd kill just for that...?" Batman**

**"Oh, yes, Batman...I would kill for revenge. Every time I look at this, I see my beloved Nora begging to be freed." Mr. Freeze, Batman the Animated Series. RIP Michael Ansara. **

**Chapter 35 The war begins, or how Izaya's game really expands into the future**

* * *

Izaya Orihara had always been a twisted, corrupted person, even as a child. The Dursleys, god rest their souls in hell and wherever they may be burning now, had been partially responsible for that. He thanked them for convincing him that magic was trash and that the wizards were idiots who had doomed all of society by dragging their war into the Muggle world.

If only they could keep their prying noses out of his life, then he wouldn't need to go around explaining himself to idiots like Fred and George and even...what would he do about Remus Lupin, and Ginny, and Tonks...if those idiots got word that he was still alive...well, about that.

Izaya had some special gifts sent for some of his worst enemies...like the lovely traitor Peter Pettigrew. He was planning on sending that rat to a muggle prison. He wouldn't hurt him in his rat form, as Izaya didn't plan on hurting animals. He actually kind of liked rats, they were like him, treacherous, deceitful, smart, cunning and hated by idiots simply for existing.

Voldemort...oh, he was going to have fun killing him. As for Malfoy, well dear Draco was probably going to die. He was going to avenge his father. The time was fast approaching when he would have to appear before those idiots and declare their world was fast over. Now, how to best destroy the wizards...?

He played with his chess board, idly. He had thought this over multiple times. Perhaps the best strategy was to let Dumbledore and Voldemort destroy each other while he just watched from the sidelines. Ah, but that would ruin the whole point of coming in to see the look on those idiots' faces once they realized just what they'd done to their precious savior.

They had destroyed his sanity, his life, and he would not let them do that again. He would make them pay for what they had done to him. No longer would they be allowed to screw with innocent children. He would not let them get away with their crimes. Not anymore.

He sighed as he spun his pawn around on his chessboard. He had received a message from both Sirius and the werewolf, both asking him to meet with them. He suspected that the werewolf man was attracted to Izaya's sadism and thirst for power.

The man, Fenrir, seemed reliable enough. He seemed to dislike Voldemort and wizards in general, though only time would tell.

Though for some reason, Sirius had asked Remus to come and see Izaya, telling him that he was alive.

Izaya had been shocked that Sirius hadn't come and asked him first, but like godson, like godfather, he supposed, as he got up, prepared for Remus and Sirius to come.

Like usual, he had also arranged for Shizuo to come meet with them, in case anything went wrong. Shizuo had become unusually protective of him lately. Izaya had found it not irritating, but in a strange way, amazing. He liked the monster lately.

It bothered him, showing such weakness.

He was stronger than that protozoan, so why was he letting in others again?

Izaya knew he would have to kill Dumbledore with his own two hands. He didn't mind that prospect. It was the idea, the thought of meeting with people who hadn't bothered to be there for him when he'd needed them most that hurt.

He could recall being thrilled to learn he had a godfather and a friend of his father's. They could talk about so much. Except...that happiness had faded to sadness and disappointment. Almost every time Izaya had sent him (Remus) a letter asking for him to remove him from the Dursleys, he had been poorly received, with Remus often sending nothing in return or a reprimand, telling him that Dumbledore had told him that he was to stay there for his own good.

"Those wizards will pay..." Izaya remarked, his eyes flashing as he threw the pawn in the air. A knock on his door interrupted him.

"Come in," He said lightly.

It was Shizuo. Shizuo came in, looking annoyed.

"So, flea, who the hell did you invite?" Shizuo said.

"My godfather and an old friend. Unfortunately, they might not be very supportive," Izaya stated, spinning around in his chair. "At least you had loving parents."

"True. I can't imagine what it was like to have no parents," Shizuo muttered, "Flea, I've really underestimated you and misjudged you this whole time."

"I tried telling you, Shizu-chan." Izaya said, folding his arms, "But you know how stubborn you can be."

"Yeah," Shizuo remarked, flopping down on Izaya's couch, a cigarette still dangling from his lips. "When are they getting here?"

"Probably about now," Izaya remarked, checking his watch.

* * *

Suddenly, Izaya's window was opened as Sirius came in, grinning. Lupin apparated in a second later, bewildered and confused.

"Sirius, couldn't you just apparate?" Lupin asked. His mouth fell open as he took in his surroundings and then his eyes narrowed. "Hey, where's Harry?"

Izaya smirked and lifted his hand up lazily, as a greeting. "Hello there, Lupin-kun. Been a long time, hmm?"

Lupin stared from Izaya to Sirius. "Who the hell's this?"

"How rude. Can't you recognize your friend's son?" Izaya remarked, flipping his pawn in the air. "...You are Remus Lupin, wizard and husband of Nymphadora Tonks, and member of the Order of the Phoenix. You taught in third year at Hogwarts. You're a werewolf, too."

"The fuck? Werewolves exist, flea?" Shizuo said.

Lupin couldn't speak for a few moments. He just stared from Sirius to Izaya, trying to look for any trace of Harry Potter in the smirking, cynical-looking man before him. "You can't be Harry. Harry has magic."

"I destroyed my magic," Izaya replied.

"The scar-"

"Is not necessary, and was taken care of. Trust me, I covered that up."

"Your eyes-"

"I had lots of plastic surgery done to make myself look Asian. No harmful side effects. They have some good magical surgery to use to alter your facial features permanently. I used some of those. But these...I used regular eye surgery for them. Now I don't need glasses." Izaya remarked sardonically.

"...I see," Sirius said, "That makes sense. You're definitely Slytherin material."

"Mind telling me who the fuck these people are, flea?" Shizuo demanded.

"Harry, we've missed you so much. You have to come back home, with us." Lupin said insistently, staring at Izaya as though he were nothing more than a petulant child who needed to be taught a lesson.

Izaya rolled his eyes and simply sipped some of his coffee before he spoke. "...Don't ever use that name in my presence. Harry Potter died a long time ago."

"Harry-"

"He said not to use that name, didn't you hear him?" Shizuo demanded. Upon seeing Shizuo's fists cracking, the man faltered.

"...Well, uh...who are you?" Lupin said, too afraid of this new Harry to sit anywhere.

"...Izaya Orihara at your service, a mere Muggle, free from the chains of wizardry. Do sit down and explain yourselves. More importantly, explain to me why you saw fit to leave me alone at the Dursleys all the time." Izaya said through gritted teeth.

Shizuo could see that Izaya hated these people, and for good reason. They seemed quite clueless.

"This is Shizu-chan. If I wanted to, he could break every bone in your body." Izaya said cheerily.

He smirked upon seeing Lupin falter.

"Uh...is that so? Well, then...on to news. I hear you've been...living as a Muggle. Don't you miss magic? The Burrow could always hear from you..."

Izaya set his cup down with a loud crash, still smiling. "...Excuse me? Did I say I at any point desired to return to those traitors? And I am someone else now, please do not associate me with Harry Potter."

"Harry, look. I can accept you having another name, but you choosing to hurt all of those who cared for you is unacceptable. I'm sure they can all explain themselves to you." Remus said, in what he thought was a convincing tone.

Shizuo knew when Izaya was pissed off. This was one of those times.

The informant pulled out his switchblade, letting it gleam in the light of the lampshade. The two before him instantly paled.

"Harry...put the weapon away. We can talk at the Burrow, we don't have to talk here-"

But Izaya had heard enough. He stood up, frowning at them both.

"Lupin, I thought you would be willing to at least hear me out and respect your friend's son's decision to be someone else. But you still insist on seeing me for someone I am not. I am Izaya Orihara, a muggle. No longer a wizard. I will not ask again, for you to call me Izaya, and for you to stop trying to convince me to be someone I'm not."

"Harry-"

"Izaya." Izaya spat.

"...Remus," Sirius said in warning.

"Fine, then, _Izaya,"_ Remus said coldly, startling Izaya, "James would have been ashamed of you for being a Muggle. He always wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and be a hero, not be a coward hiding out in the Muggle world._ People are dying, and you can stop all of it, yet you sit here, having a good time. Do you realize what hardships you've caused us? Dumbledore said it, you're the only one who can defeat You-Know-Who. Please, understand. It's been hard on all of us."_

Izaya rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Shizuo's fists tightened around the glass he was holding, instantly shattering it into pieces as the pieces flew on the floor. "I'm gonna go clean this up," He mumbled, walking casually over to the sink, and grabbing a piece of a towel and starting to wipe it up.

"...Please, listen to me. I know you hate us now, but all I'm asking for is for you to come home. The Weasleys are devastated. Ginny wants to see you so badly. Dumbledore cares about you. Please, listen to us. We're sorry for what we did. We love you-"

At this point, Izaya's lips twitched. He started to smile.

Lupin smiled in relief.

Then, Izaya started to chuckle, and before he knew it, he stood up and started to laugh, laugh hysterically, holding his sides, as his maniacal laughter echoed around the room. Shizuo looked at him in concern, Sirius also.

Remus watched on in bewilderment, startled by his best friend's son showing such off behavior. What had happened to him?

"...I'm sorry. Your comment was full of such bullshit that I think I nearly laughed myself to death. You're wrong on so many levels, Remus-san." He said coldly, losing any informality he may have had. "...That isn't my home, it never was. You all intended to use me, to make me be a little puppet. Ginny is only upset because she never got to have her little doll awarded to her. I know. You intended for me to be used to make children for the Weasleys, and then you wanted to either sterilize me, or make me a vegetable."

"Harry-" Remus began.

Shizuo came back, his fists tightening even more. He was growing irritated, both with these assholes and with the flea's changing emotions. 'Who the fuck do they think they are, dictating the flea's life like that? IF anyone had used me like that, I would have killed them. Kill...kill...kill..'

Izaya smirked. "What? Are you sincerely upset for how you abandoned me at the Dursleys, year after year? You know, you could have come saved me at any time, Remus. You weren't imprisoned by idiotic wizards. Yet you chose not to. That's called child neglect. That's punishable by jail time."

"...Harry, don't misunderstand. Dumbledore said you were safe there. No matter how they hurt you, they were your family."

Shizuo had heard just about enough, as his veins throbbed on his temples, and he slammed his fist hard, down on a chair, silencing Remus.

"...Will you shut the hell up, you bastard? You're so full of crap you make the flea look honest and trustworthy! What do you know about Izaya, hmm? You're making excuses for being a shitty person. That pisses me off. I hate when people can't stay true to their promises, and especially to a kid." He lifted up the table, swinging it around as a warning.

"...Wait just a moment." Remus cried, weakly, "I wanted to know why you chose to not contact us-"

"_I chose_ to not contact you? Don't kid yourself, Remus. You've always been eating out of Dumbledore's hands. You trusted an old man more than your own friend's son. You didn't bother to adopt an orphaned son because you didn't care about upholding promises. All you cared about was tracking down Pettigrew, am I wrong? To that end did you abandon me for nearly 13 years and then you show up, looking for Sirius. Not a word to me about my parents. Not a word asking about how I was doing, how I was faring with my relatives. You only showed up when it was convenient for you." Izaya spat coldly, pointing his knife at Remus.

"...But Harry-"

"Enough, Remus," Sirius snapped, "_I told you to call him Izaya._ He's had enough of our world. Can't you respect that?"

Remus's face reddened. "_I CANNOT ACCEPT JAMES POTTER'S SON BECOMING A MUGGLE AND ABANDONING OUR WORLD WHEN IT NEEDS HIM MOST! YOU HAVE TO DEFEAT VOLDEMORT, THAT'S YOUR DESTINY AND YOU CAN'T CHANGE IT, HARRY! SNAP OUT OF THIS STATE. YOU ARE THE CHOSEN ONE. I TAUGHT YOU THE PATRONUS FOR A REASON, NOT SO YOU COULD WASTE IT PLAYING SOME SILLY FANTASY-_"

WHAM.

At that instant, Shizuo's fist collided with Remus's jaw, causing the werewolf to fly backwards and hit the wall, hard. The werewolf had never felt such intense pain before, he could feel some of his teeth coming out as blood seeped out of his mouth.

Shizuo approached, the angry beast hovering over the other, as he picked him up, glaring at him. "...I think I've met someone I despise more than the damned flea. Listening to you talk about the flea like that...are ya such a self-centered jackass that ya can't even bother to listen to what the freakin' flea has to say, huh? You had a commitment, right? You were supposed to take him in and raise him. Decent people don't abandon children. Only a scumbag does that. And for that, I say I'm going to beat the shit out of you until you apologize to Izaya."

"...There's nothing...to apologize for..." Lupin said.

WHAM.

Shizuo punched Remus in the gut, and a crack could be heard as his ribs were twisted.

"...What did you say? I think I'm gonna call you a wolf bastard. What did you say, wolf bastard? Did I hear an apology for the flea after abandoning him? Because decent people don't abandon kids and leave them with monsters who hurt them! Don't you have any decency in your body!" Shizuo roared.

Remus looked afraid now as he stuttered. "Look...you don't know anything...Harry has to...it's his destiny."

WHACK.

Remus was whacked over the head by a chair. Blood streamed from his forehead as Shizuo continued to punch and kick him.

"What kind of sick bastard sentences a child to go and fight after an enemy they can't? You're sick!"

"...I think I've done enough to you. You won't be moving for weeks, not even in your werewolf form. Do you know...where I punched you?"

Remus shook his head, too bruised to even speak.

".._.I punched you...in all the places that the flea showed me he has bruises from, from that horrendous world of yours. All the hell you put him through is now what you're feeling, you coward! Izaya has been able to live a life of peace for years, and now you show up threatening to take away the only peace he has left?" Shizuo roared. "THE ONLY PERSON WHO GETS TO MAKE HIS LIFE HELL IS ME. YOU GOT THAT?"_

Remus trembled in fear.

Izaya clapped.

"Very good, Shizu-chan. We can send him back to the hospital, Sirius. Do perform a memory-wiping spell on this piece of shit here."

"But, Izaya-" Sirius began.

"_He does not care about me_. You were mistaken. You care, but he does not. He's not worth anything in my eyes. I want you to take him away and never tell him anything about me again. _I do not want to see hide nor hair of him again. Remus Lupin is as good as dead in my eyes."_ Izaya spat.

Shizuo dropped Remus, who passed out from blood loss, and stormed over to Sirius.

"Fucking coward. You're a fucking coward, too. Why didn't you stand up for your own godson?" He growled.

Sirius trembled. "He went too far! Keeping Harry safe is my biggest priority...but I think what Izaya's father would want is for him to be safe...right?"

Izaya smiled. "Farewell, godfather...our meeting is over. The next time I see Remus Lupin, he'll be a dead man." He waved his knife in the air as a warning.

Sirius nodded, shakily, before he and Remus vanished, wiping the blood off the floor with a simple spell.

"What cowards. Flea, do you really want to deal with these assholes?"

Izaya shook his head. "Trust me, my meeting with the next werewolf should be...fun. He also hates Remus."

"I see. Aren't you afraid they'll try and make you like them?" Shizuo asked.

"They have an honor code, unlike the wizards." Izaya said, smirking. "That should send the message across. That I want nothing to do with wizards."

From Seiji's room, Mika listened to the recorded message of Shizuo beating the snot out of a wizard and smiled.

"Those disgusting wizards won't come near me or Seiji-kun. I won't let them." She muttered. "Good luck, Izaya."


	36. Chapter 36 Fenrir pays a visit

**A/N: Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope you all haven't lost your patience with me. Today, this story gets updated! Time for some flashbacks. By the way, the song Stay this Way from From Ashes to New fits Izaya in this fanfic so well; how he reprimands the wizards and owns them. :D **

**"It's my life, it's my fate, it doesn't matter what you say, cos it never was your place, it's never gonna change no matter what you say, I will stay this way." -Lyrics to Stay this way**

**Also I'm a sucker for werewolf Harry or Fenrir/Harry fanfics, particularly ones with older harry being Fenrir's mate or Fenrir murdering the Dursleys to protect Harry. Any recommendations for Good Farry/Harir fics would be appreciated, I'm always up for a good Fenrir story. The guy deserved more closure. **

**Chapter 36 Negotiations and old friends appear **

* * *

Izaya smashed the table with his fists as Sirius had left with Remus in his arms, saying something about how foolish he was to think the werewolf would be to change his mind about the whole Boy-who-Lived rubbish.

"Hey, flea, you all right?" Shizuo asked, staring at how angry the informant seemed to be, the way his crimson irises were burning with rage and his fists were tightening so hard, his knuckles were white. He'd never seen Izaya this angry before. Izaya was terrifying when he was this mad.

"No," He hissed, "Fuck those wizards. They spend years, nine freaking years-" He picked up a book and flung it across the room, "Fighting their own, pathetic, childish war against a psychopath, then they entrust it to a lone child who's never known love or hope his whole life and expect him to turn out stable? Not only that, they believe I'd honestly come back to them on my hands and knees?"

Shizuo shook his head. "Calm down, Izaya. We'll kill them if need be. You have the Awakusu-kai after all."

"What good will Shiki-san and his men do against men with wands who can control your very mind, Shizu-chan? IF anything, Saika-chan and her army and Celty will have to fight alongside me. I'll need everyone's help..." He muttered, "The Dollars...the Blue Squares...the Yellow Scarves. I need everyone, not just you, Shizu-chan. This is war against an archaic, outdated society that knows nothing of us Muggles."

"Heh, I think I'll send this Volde- fellow a welcome notice. The next one who comes in will be a dead man." He said, cracking his knuckles.

"I wonder how Bellatrix will react to me being insane?" Izaya remarked, "Perhaps I should make an alliance with her, too. Though it will be difficult to get her to turn against her master."

"Who the hell is that?" Shizuo asked, cleaning up Izaya's mess.

"...Voldemort's insane devotee. Her specialty is torturing people. If I can get her to join my side, I'll be unbeatable. Plus, Fenrir-san offered to meet me today and discuss negotiations. With some werewolves, I'll be powerful. There's something I'm missing!" He slammed the table again.

"What is it?" Shizuo asked.

"Dumbassdore. As long as he lives, Voldemort can't do anything against me. But if either of them get hold of me, I'm fucked. I'll have to seal his demise some other way. Perhaps he's living off borrowed time. Like maybe he's like Celty-existing off objects, keeping his soul alive. If I can just destroy him-"

Shizuo put his arms on his shoulders.

"Izaya, relax! We will win! We'll beat these assholes! I'm the only one who gets to kill you, dammit!" He said, "Where's the confident, strong Izaya I know who can beat anyone who tries to oppose him?"

Izaya smiled. "You're right, Shizu-chan. Forgive me, I'm thinking too much. I can't win this war if I'm too stressed to think straight. Oh, and we've got company." He said before pointing to the door where a certain blond was leaning against the doorway, smirking.

"Izaya Orihara, pleasure seeing you again," Fenrir said coolly, "These Muggle ways of transportation are quite cumbersome. Idiotic humans wouldn't stop staring at me." He said.

"Welcome, Fenrir-san. This is my rival, Shizu-chan. He's blessed with enormous strength for a human." Izaya said.

Shizuo just nodded his head. This guy...he didn't trust him.

Fenrir sniffed the air. "You...you're impressive, for a human. Perhaps you'd make an ideal werewolf. Yes, an excellent werewolf."

"Me?" Shizuo asked cluelessly. "Werewolves are real?"

"Of course!" Fenrir said with a bark of laughter, "Did you not just visit with that traitor Remus just now?"

"Yeah," Shizuo muttered, "I broke most of his bones."

Fenrir looked extremely amused upon hearing this. "Ha! I've been meaning to teach that guy a few lessons myself. He's a traitor to our kind. Potter, or Orihara here, would make a nice werewolf. He has the right combination of stamina, cunning, and inhuman sadism. Things I like." He said, smirking at the informant, who smirked back.

"Do please sit down," Izaya said. "Is that blood on your face?"

"Yes, I killed several deer and a few people today. Converted a few, too. Look promising enough. They aren't promising enough; I kill 'em." He said.

"That's interesting." Shizuo said, stepping back from the blond, who kept eying him.

"He'd make an excellent werewolf, I tell you." He said, "So what are your plans?"

"Plans?" Izaya said, "I'm going to pit Dumbledore and Voldemort against each other indirectly, then swoop in and kill both of them-with muggle gangs, weapons and Shizu-chan's help. As well as your assistance. I'm aware that you despise both of them terribly. Mind telling me why?"

Fenrir looked surprised that a human would actually ask him that. "Well, Dumbledore doesn't care about the status of us werewolves, he never helped us. Voldemort helps us a little bit, but if any of us defied him, he wouldn't hesitate to kill us. I've got me a wife and cubs back home. So of course, I'm only obeying him because he's promised us good things. But I doubt he'll actually carry through with it. You, on the other hand, are the most interesting human out of a race of stupid people. What made you turn against them?"

"Being betrayed and awakening to the truth of this world. Some days, you have to start a war and some lives must be lost. The right amount of fire has to be thrown in in order to stir up a conflict." He whispered.

Fenrir licked his lips. "Interesting. So say I negotiate with you and back you up. Can I convert any of the wizards?"

"Feel free to do what you like to them. Kill them, maim them, I don't care. But don't kill any of my humans. Well, feel free to convert any you like," He said, "Unless it's Shizu-chan, my family, or Masaomi-kun or Mikado-kun. Those humans do not need to be converted. Actually, I can think of someone you can convert."

"Who?"

"How about one Ron Weasley? He's an utter coward and a piece of shit. Or you can kill him. Also, there is one I despise most. He's aware of my true identity, so it's about time he dies."

"I see," Fenrir said, "I see, I'll send one of my pack to do the job. This is only a truce and I'm only sticking with it because you're utterly fascinating and insane."

"Exactly, having fun while shedding blood is the best part." Izaya said, smirking.

"I hate those Weasleys, but Dumbledore is the worst." Fenrir said, sniffing. "If I were him, I'd be trembling in fear. Deal?"

Izaya nodded and they shook hands and paid each other.

As the werewolf left, Shizuo looked at Izaya.

"Do you trust that guy?"

"Of course not. But he's true to his word. As long as I don't say anything against his pack, he won't hurt you. How would you like being a furry wolf, Shizu-chan?"

The fist to his face told him his answer.

"I figured."

"Who's this Nakura person?" Shizuo asked.

"Ah, this is a tale told a long time ago. When I was in high school, I was bribing this guy named Nakura, and he stabbed Shinra, because he knew my true identity and was angry with me."

* * *

_"Shinra!" Izaya cried, staring at his unconscious friend. _

_"Orihara, I hate you!" Nakura screamed. "I hate what you've done!"_

_"Why, what are you talking about?" Izaya said, tilting his head, smiling dangerously. _

_"I know who you really are! You're H-Harry Potter, right? That coward who deserted us in our time of need? I want to kill you for betraying us, you scum!" _

_Nakura didn't expect Izaya to slash his arm with his switchblade. "Don't ever say that name in my presence. The person who took your society's bullshit is fucking dead. If you EVER say a word to anyone about my true identity, you're dead, got it?" He hissed, fury burning in his red irises._

_Nakura shook like the coward he was. "But, Potter, see reason here." _

_Izaya punched him in the gut. "What did I say?" _

_"To be a coward?" Nakura said, chuckling. _

_The answer was another punch. _

_"Tell you what. You're gonna be my lackey until I say otherwise. You say a word otherwise, you'll have your tongue and your eyes gouged out." He pointed his blade right at the other's eyeballs. _

_"Right!" He screamed. _

Nakura looked up upon seeing a woman; a very attractive woman with dark hair, coming his way.

"Hey, handsome, would you like to have dinner with me?" She said, lowering her shirt a little.

Nakura's eyes widened. "Sure!"

As they lay on his bed together, he rolled over to her. "So, what do you like most to do in bed with a partner?"

"My, I don't know, I'm just overwhelmed by how handsome you are, your scent, your smell, your sexy face. Why, I could just let you ravish me." She said, cuddling close to him.

"I...I-" He said.

"Shhhh...let me entertain you, love. I'm going to enjoy...dining on you!" She hissed, sinking her fangs into his shoulder.

He screamed, but he barely had any time to react upon seeing gray fur grow on her arms and legs until a snarling she-wolf was in front of him.

"Time to eat!" She said in delight as she lunged for the kill.

It wasn't until many weeks later that they found the remains of what was left of Nakura.

He was badly decomposed, and only his face was free of any blood or bite marks. He had been severely bitten and eaten at. It was as though he had been eaten by a shark.

"Was this the work of Hollywood?" People whispered.

The she-wolf entered her den, nuzzling up against her mate, Fenrir.

"I did as you asked, love." She said, snuggling up against him.

Fenrir kissed her. "It was a favor for an ally of mine. The most interesting human I've ever run into."

"Oh, really? Humans are just prey."

"This one's entertaining, love. Trust me." He said with a smirk.


	37. Chapter 37 Compromises

**A/N:I had an enjoyable day at school today, and it was...instantly ruined the day I went on Tumblr. Tumblr used to be so nice, why is it full of fucking assholes and jerks? I think this idea I've come up with is brilliant, and those who want nothing but canon Harry, nice little, soldier, puppet, naive, badly characterized, and mismanaged Harry, should look elsewhere. I play my characters how I want to. You don't like that? Get lost and stop making some stranger's life on the Internet hell and make them break down just because you want to. **

**Think before you send anon hate or a hate message. You don't know that person or what situations they've been in throughout their lives. This is what makes me hate online media. But I could never hate , it's helped me too much. I thank you all for being kind and patient, through my depression spells and writer's block, this site helps me more than words could ever express. And for that, I would like to apologize, but I will be dumping some angst on this chapter, just to deal with my feelings. **

**this chapter is very short for reasons. notably, I'm tired, so enjoy what's here and I'll put in his memories tomorrow on the next chapter. **

**Chapter 37 Pained Recollections and...Shizuo loves Izaya? **

* * *

Izaya sat up on his bed, looking at the occupied space beside it in disbelief. Why Shizuo had chosen to stick by the informant's side was anybody's guess. Was it because he felt bad for the informant, for having been given the title of the Boy-Who-Lived, led through a destiny that was not his, tortured by everyone and everything he knew, and unloved?

As he watched Shizuo's chest rise up and down, a strange feeling sprouted in Izaya's chest. Normally he'd be telling the protozoan to get off his bed. But now, he was strangely...welcoming of it. Having the blond by him was enough to help him...if he wanted to get through those nightmares of his. He was fairly certain he'd have them again. When didn't he have them, though, was the question.

"Pretty soon, that old fart will either die by Voldemort's hands or by my own hands. Or else old age will come claim him. If he dies before I get to carry out my revenge, someone up there is messed up." He said to himself, before he chuckled softly, rummaging around in a drawer until he took out a single solo, white feather. It was all that remained of his precious owl.

His only friend who hadn't manipulated or used him.

Then again, she was dead. Hermione was dead. Despite all his tauntings of the girl, he'd had reason to believe that she truly had meant well. If things had gone differently, perhaps he'd have continued being the 'tool' he was supposed to be-

His fist smashed the table.

Like hell that would ever happen.

Izaya let a single tear fall down his face. He must not show weakness.

"Izaya?"

Dammit, why did he have to be caught now?

Izaya turned, in time to see Shizuo was awake, rubbing his eyes drowsily.

"Flea, I'm only here because I'm your partner in this crap-Izaya, flea, why the fuck are you crying-?"

But Izaya couldn't speak. In one of these rares instances, Izaya Orihara just needed someone to talk to. He said nothing, pushing himself up against Shizuo's chest, and then letting the silent tears fall, while Shizuo had a mixture of pity and annoyance on his features.

"Goddamn flea, you're making me soft. Whoever these idiots are, I'm gonna pulverize them terribly. But not before beating the shit out of you. Only I get to lay a hand on you."

"That's Shizu-chan's idea of love, isn't it?" Izaya chuckled, before pulling away from the other.

"Love? Flea, I-"

"Shizu-chan, I've realized it for a while now. I'm too drawn to your stupidity. I'm in love with you!"

Shizuo blinked and then gaped, open-mouthed.

"What the fuck happened to the flea?"

"I'm still here, Shizu-chan. I'm just asking if I can do this."

Izaya wrapped his arms around the other, but not before his face met the wall.

"HOLD ON A SECOND, IZAYA! EVERYTHING'S GOING TOO DAMNED FAST. ONE SECOND, YOU TELL ME YOU'RE A WHIZZER OR WHATEVER, THEN THESE CRAZED LOONS ARE CHASING YOU, NOW YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH ME! AND I SUPPOSE YOU FRAMING ME-"

"Is my own twisted form of love, you know, the way that the sweet old man taught me to believe in." Izaya said.

"...Right. Izaya. I...I...GODDAMMIT, I FUCKING LOVE YOU! I need to go rinse my mouth out!" Shizuo growled, before stumbling toward Izaya's bathroom.

"Subtle," Izaya called after him.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, FLEA!"

Izaya shook his head in amusement as he sat on his bed.

When Shizuo came back, he looked at Izaya.

"Flea, you were screaming in your sleep." He said in worry. "What did they do to you?"

Izaya laughed bitterly. "What didn't they do to me, Shizu-chan? They manipulated me. I just remembered how my memory and personality was altered, constantly. How much I screamed."

Shizuo's fist tightened. "These people are dead, flea. When I get my hands on them-"

"Shush, Shizu-chan," Izaya said, "All in due process. For now, we plan how we're going to get back at them. But let me tell you about the dream. It wasn't very pleasant." He muttered.

Slowly, he relaxed.

Shizuo stared at Izaya. "Hey, flea you don't look so good."

If Shizuo didn't know better, he'd say that Izaya almost looked...sad and lonely. Not unlike the first impression he'd had of the boy when he had first introduced himself and gloated about wanting to be friends with a strong monster like Shizuo. He honestly couldn't believe that the man he'd hated for this long was this broken.

A man he was only now starting to accept and treat as...a friend?

The whole idea of befriending Izaya Orihara was so unbelievable to him. Maybe because for most of his life, the thought of Izaya was only as the worst person imaginable. When he'd looked at him, he saw that Izaya was a cruel bastard. Now, however, he could look beneath it and see that yes, Izaya was cruel, but he could see why. Izaya had not had much of a choice in the matter of how he was treated-and his coping mechanism was to be just as cruel as the world that had been cruel to him was.

It was the most tragic form of karma, he supposed, that a world so cruel would get that treatment back on them tenfold.

"Izaya," He began, "How well did you disguise yourself?"

"Very well," He said, "In fact, Shizu-chan, my face is the result of good old plastic surgery. It's different from how it used to be."

"You mean you looked different?" Shizuo remarked.

When Izaya didn't answer, he smiled. "I figured, flea. Red eyes aren't natural. You're different, Izaya, but that's what I like about you."

Izaya looked at him before sighing. "Too bad the rest of the Wizarding World couldn't think that way."

"Yeah, well the rest of your wizard friends are all a bunch of idiots, with the exception of that black-haired guy, and even he was cowardly." He snarled, still remembering Lupin and how worthless he was.

"They really are hopeless, aren't they?" Izaya chuckled, "Still, let me just tell you a few words about how the man known as Orihara Izaya came to be. Even though you've already heard quite a deal about it-"

"You like talking of yourself most, flea," Shizuo said, laughing.

Izaya merely smirked.

"Let me go ahead and say, have you ever wondered...exactly how someone like me was born?"

Shizuo lit a cigarette. "Can't say I do, flea."

"Yes?" Izaya said, "What you don't know could hurt you."

"I don't care, flea. You're Izaya Orihara to me, and you're one of my archenemies."

"And?"

"One of my...friends."

"Andddddd~?" Izaya stressed the word, annoying the blond more.

"And you're my...b-bo..."

"Oh my, Shizu-chan can't even bring himself to say the word, can he?" Izaya chuckled.

"Shut up, flea!" Shizuo snarled.

"All right, then, I'm your boyfriend, is that it?" Izaya chirped.

"Yes..." Shizuo muttered, flushing.

"Shizu-chan's blushing. How embarrassing. Let me tell him exactly what it was like being gay at a young age, and then having my memories and personality rewritten!" He said cheerily.

Shizuo gaped, open-mouthed. "That sounds...painful." He mumbled.

"You're telling me."

* * *

_Harry was thrown onto the ground. _

_"Professor Dumbledore, Harry doesn't care about saving the Wizarding World. He admitted it to us!" Hermione begged. _

_Dumbledore glared down at the boy who looked at him with admiring eyes. _

_"Headmaster," He said, "Please, make them see reason. I don't really want to save this school that's been hurting and mistreating me." _

_"Ah, Harry," He began. The young boy listened. _

_"You should know better."_

_Ron entered the room then, beet red with anger. "We caught him...trying to hit on me! It was disgusting! That upset Ginny, she started crying, saying that Harry should be flirting with her, and-"_

_"Headmaster," Harry began, "It's natural to be this way."_

_Dumbledore shook his head. "No, my boy. You are to be the savior, and you are not to be anything but a...deviant."_

_"That's right!" Ron snapped. "Become a straight like the rest of us." _

_Hermione left the room, unwilling to see Harry get tortured. _

_However, Ron stuck around to watch as Harry got tortured. _

_"You will have your memories rewritten yet again." Dumbledore said icily. _

_"What are you talking about?" Harry screamed. _

_All he knew was that a wand was pointed at him and Albus Dumbledore didn't look so friendly anymore. _

_"I'm sorry, my boy, but this is for the Greater Good," He said sarcastically as he fired a spell._

_Next memory_

_"Did you hear that? Potter's gay!" His classmates taunted as Dudley and his friends ganged up on him. _

_"You're not just a freak, you're a real freak!" Dudley sneered. "You know what Mummy says happens to freaks, right? They die!" _

_"Yeah, well, your mummy is just as freakish as anyone else!" Harry cried._

_He could recall the teachers having been told to ignore his bruises. _

_Third memory_

_"Mister Potter," Minerva began, "I've noticed you seem very unwilling to speak with Mr. Weasley."_

_"He mistreated me!" Harry said, "I wanted to talk to him, but he's being an asshole and a jerk! I found him attractive and he was repulsed by me!" _

_"Mister Potter, you will not use such foul language. And being homosexual is a mental illness. If you keep it up, you could be accused of stalking and harassing Mr. Weasley." Minerva said sharply. _

_"But he called me the f word!" He said, "And he and some other boys locked me in a closet!"_

_"Mister Potter, you have homework due from a week ago. Is this your excuse? Mister Weasley now abducts your homework? I would suggest you might as well complain about homework rather than silly squabbles between friends." _

_"But-" _

_He stopped. _

_The look Ron was giving him-it was the look of malice that said no one would believe him after this. And he was right. _

_Fourth Memory_

_Izaya turned to look at Shinra. _

_"So, Shinra," He said lazily, "You'll accept absolutely anyone?"_

_"Of course! Humans are strange, but that doesn't mean I won't be interested." Shinra said. _

_"Even if I happened to be homosexual?" Izaya said._

_"Why not?" Shinra said, "Gay people are people, too!" _

_He didn't see the smile that crossed Izaya's face before it morphed into a smirk._

_"Izaya, were you smiling just now?"_

_"Was not."_

_"Yes, you were!"_

_"Was not."_

_"Oh, Izaya's such a tsundere." Shinra teased, poking Izaya, who jumped back, not used to physical contact. _

_Izaya just blinked. _

_"Oh, you know, it's a person who's rude one second and then a nice person." _

_"Oh, but Shinra, don't you think I'm a twisted person through and through?" Izaya purred. _

_"I don't really think so." Shinra said. "You seem more like you've never been loved. But Celty can give that love to you!" _

_"I figured you were going to say that," Izaya huffed. _

_"Oh, come on, Izaya! It was a joke! What more do I need to do?" Shinra moaned. _

_"Well, for starters," Izaya suggested, "You could go and marry Celty. You go on and on about this Celty person of yours, and I haven't even met her."_

_Shinra froze. "You've never met her? You need to meet her! She has no head." _

_Izaya paused and then looked at him. "Really? That's fascinating. I'd love to." _

_Shinra looked at him in shock. "You're the first person who hasn't screamed. Most people are terrified!" _

_"I love all my humans, even the strange ones." Izaya said._

_"You are a strange one, Izaya," Shinra remarked. From what he could tell of the black-haired teen, Izaya operated on a different level of logic, but Shinra was weird and Izaya was, too, so that didn't really matter much. _

_He figured the boy came from another country, perhaps an English one? _

_"Hey, Izaya, you're from a foreign country, right?" _

_Izaya nodded. "Yes."_

_Why was it Izaya was always so cold and calculating? Just like a snake._

_Later..._

_"I'm home, my precious Celty!" Shinra cried. _

_Izaya was wary of Shinra's parents at first, but they were accepting of him. Even if he suspected that Shingen knew more than he let on about him, the man never told him if he knew of wizards existing. _

_What he hadn't expected to see was a woman with no head come walking towards him. It was a fascinating sight. He stared at her. _

_The figure looked at him before quickly typing on her device. _

_'Shinra, I'm not just an object to be looked at.' _

_"Aww, Celty, you're adorable. This is my friend, Izaya, from school." Shinra said. _

_'The creep?' Celty wrote. _

_"He's not just a creep, he's my friend." Shinra said. _

_Izaya walked towards her. "So you must be the Celty I've heard so much about. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Izaya Orihara." _

_'Is that a British accent you have?' Celty typed._

_Izaya's mouth fell open. "No, not quite. I'm just a foreigner, that's all." _

_'Nice to meet you, Izaya. Aren't you bothered by me not having a head?' She typed. _

_Izaya shrugged. "No, au contraire, I find it fascinating."_

_He'd always thought that Celty was surprised that Izaya hadn't judged her for being headless, but seeing as he was a former wizard, nothing could surprise him. It was only rational that he would accept human differences. _

* * *

"Izaya," Shizuo said, but then he noticed that the brunette was on the verge of falling asleep, his slim figure leaning on the other's for support.

"Shizu-chan," He muttered, "I'm tired. Let me rest for a while. I'm also hungry."

"Flea, I-" Shizuo began, but suddenly realized something important.

"Aw, crap!" He cried, throwing himself out of Izaya's bed.

"What is it?" Izaya said smugly.

"I'm late for work with Tom!" He cried.

"Oh," Izaya muttered, having forgotten about that.

"Look, flea, don't do anything stupid, okay? I'm the only one allowed to hurt you, all right? If those magical idiots show up, I'll kick their asses!"

"Nice to know how much of a supportive lover you are, Shizu-chan!" Izaya purred.

As Izaya was walking down the street later that day, he didn't expect to run into two familiar redheads.

"If it isn't Fred-san and George-san." Izaya remarked, "What brings you two here?"

"We...wanted to apologize," they said in unison.

"Apologize, hm? When in fact, you two are every bit as cowardly as Ron-kun," He whipped out his switchblade. "I trusted in you two and what did you do? You have almost spilled news of my existence to Ron, who is responsible for me as I am today."

"Listen, Ron is regretful for what he did!" Fred said.

"Oh, poor Fred and George. Here you are, defending your disgusting brother." Izaya shook his head sadly.

"He's our blood!"

"That would be like me attempting to defend the Dursleys. I trusted you two and this is how you repay me."

"We're sorry, Izaya! You've changed so much and we didn't even know until now! Ron confessed to us that he used to bully you and he regrets it!"

Izaya's eyes widened.

"You're kidding me, right? The day that Ron Weasley apologizes for anything is the day the wizards stop being idiots. Which will never happen, by the way."

"No, mate, we're telling the truth."

Izaya looked at them...honestly looked at them...before he started laughing.

"Mate!"

But Izaya continued to laugh, maniacally, until he spoke up.

"You really are foolish idiots if you expect me to believe that claptrap." Izaya said, his crimson orbs burning in amusement.

"He's looking for you!"

"Well, I'll put a bullet between his eyes! I have no need for that world." Izaya remarked. "The only people I needed were you two. But you two betrayed me so easily, hm?"

Fred and George shuddered at the other's wrath. "Look, Izaya, we were wrong!"

"Of course. I was wrong to trust in any of the wizards. What you did was show me that no matter what wizard it might be, they're all the same."

"Hold on, isn't that the same as the rest of the people assuming terrible things about you?"

Izaya chuckled. "And I also happen to recall that during school, when all those awful rumors were being spread about me, you guys did nothing to stop it. You didn't do a thing to stop Ron from bullying me, if I recall also."

"It was our-"

"Your family's reputation mattered more. Oh dear. Now you're crawling back to me, attempting to gain favor, isn't that right?"

George frowned for a second...before a firework whizzed by Izaya's head.

"Actually, we are sorry!" Fred said, "So much so that we've decided to give you a gift of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes! That's partially why we came here!" He said, afraid that the raven-haired male would kill him before he could finish his sentence. "We were hoping that you might prank Heiwa-something again."

"Ah, but he and I are dating." He said.

"But Harry!" They cried.

"Look," Fred said, "When we first met you, we didn't know how to react. You acted every bit like the hero from stories, but sooner or later, we realized the way our family was treating you wasn't right. We did speak up, but our mom threatened us. She said if we tried to help you or tell you anything, we'd be in worse trouble than we could imagine. When we gave you the Marauder's Map, that was our way of trying to help you. But we failed..."

Izaya looked at them, surprise evident in his eyes. "Go on."

"Because of that, we resigned ourselves to believing you were dead, and we decided we would bully Ron for the rest of our lives. We know you're a sociopath now, Izaya, but we want forgiveness!" They pleaded as one.

"George here is a bit of a nitwit. We're sorry for not seeing that you needed help. We're sorry for not coming to you, we're sorry that we trusted our family over you. We shouldn't have."

Izaya was silent. "I see." He muttered before he turned. "Shouldn't those apologies have been given to me after I'd been injured?"

"Well, you know, our parents were there and whatnot. We didn't know what to do," Fred confessed, "We figured if anyone would leave, it was going to be you, Izaya. We're happy you have a life here, but if Ron comes, promise us you won't-"

The malicious look on Izaya's face told them all they needed to know.

"Izaya, you're a better person now! Don't sink yourself to his level."

"Ron will have to serve jail time for murdering Hermione, hm?" He said.

"I suppose you're right. Does this mean that we're-"

"That you're forgiven? Far from it. While I am glad you cared about me, it still doesn't help that you allowed your family to treat me in such a way."

"Please!" Fred begged.

"You know," Izaya said sadly, "In another life, Fred and George, we could have been the worst of enemies, or the closest of friends. I'm saddened to say that in this universe, it will be neither."

"You trust us?" George exclaimed, having started to cry by now.

"Don't get that excited. I didn't finish my sentence. What I meant is...that you are neither my ally nor my friend. You two are just mere acquaintances of mine. You don't hang around here anymore, you don't try and use me anymore, because I'm not really going to buy it. I might use your products, but treat me as a mere Muggle that you just met. Because, you have seen me only as Harry Potter. I would like you to erase him from your memories and see me as only Izaya. You'll treat me as a stranger."

"All right, mate! I was expecting you to actually...banish us." Fred said hesitantly.

"Banish you? No, I've merely destroyed the image of the so-called savior from your minds. Now you just see me as a new person. That's all I ask." He said simply.

Fred and George traded glances, pausing, almost like they were thinking.

"All right, we accept. See you...Izaya Orihara." They said as they Disapparated.


	38. Chapter 38 the brink of war

A/N: Here we are! Now you'll see the Oriharas' perspectives on getting Harry/Izaya and what life for him is like as a Muggle. And we'll also have some insight on Fenrir's mate and how she plays a part in this as well. And Voldie should make an appearance, it's been a while since he did.

Chapter 38 The story of the Oriharas

* * *

He was alone. They were there, cornering him. They knew where he was. They were going to kill him.

"Leave me alone!" He yelped, feeling his scar burn intensely as he fell to his knees, whimpering.

"How pathetic, Harry. Living as a Muggle, we should've killed you fully and finished the job." Ron sneered, picking up the teenager and glaring at him. "You're filthy."

"Stop it!" Harry cried, stabbing Ron with his knife.

He watched as Ron fell to the ground, covered in blood.

"No...what have I done?" He moaned.

He could see all of them surrounding him, attacking him.

"Harry Potter, we send you to Azkaban!"

"NO!" Harry screamed.

A dementor appeared, its lips trailing over him. He was about to die, he was about to die-

He woke with a start, shooting up on his bed, sweat sticking to his forehead. His gaze went to his bedcovers. He looked over at where the door was open and a little hand opened it.

"Iza-nii all right? Screaming in sleep," Kururi Orihara whispered.

The fifteen-year old teen stared at her, his crimson orbs filled with surprise before he smiled nervously. "I just had a nightmare, Kururi. Nothing to worry about."

But Kururi came in, followed by his adopted mother and Mairu.

"Izaya, tell me why you were screaming. I care for you." She said softly.

Izaya felt warm all of a sudden when she touched him. What if she hurt him again?

No, he shook those thoughts aside.

"I just...dreamed about how you first took me in and I dreamed they found me again. I'm glad it was just a dream."

"Hush. It's all right, you're my son now. I won't let them take you from us. You'll never be hurt again." She whispered, hugging him.

He returned it.

"Iza-nii is amazing! Kick their butts!" Mairu cheered.

"Kick ass." Kururi said.

"Kururi, vulgar language is unnecessary," Kyoko said, but there was a soft smile on her lips as she hugged the teen.

"I know I belong here, Mother...but I fear that they might get me one day." He whispered.

"It's all right. You know we're here for you." Kyoko said, smiling.

Izaya stood in front of his locker. It had been a month since he had become Izaya Orihara, and had gotten his vision fixed and gotten contacts, and gotten surgery. He was still recovering from his surgery, so he was a little sicker than usual.

But he had insisted that he was well enough to go to school, so his mother had allowed him to go, but if he experienced any pain in that nasty scar of his, he was to come home immediately. He glared at where the ugly thing was, hidden by his bangs, which had grown long enough to cover them.

"Izaya!" Shinra cried, coming over to see him, startling the teen out of his thoughts.

"Shinra, why do you hang around someone like me?" He whispered. "You know I'm an asshole."

Shinra looked at him in confusion. "Izaya, you're not that bad of a guy. I take it whatever brought you to this country must've been bad. Maybe you were a runaway."

"Definitely not." Izaya said.

"Then what was it-"

"None of your business." Izaya said sharply, before swinging his bag around. "Anyway, we'll be late for class."

As he strode down the hallway, he looked around. He expected to see accusing stares, judgmental faces. People calling him the heir of Slytherin, people calling him a liar, an attention-seeker.

Instead, he was ignored. People occasionally looked his way or whispered about Orihara Izaya, but mostly, he was an insignificant human here with an ordinary family. Well, as ordinary as he could be, having been a former wizard and all.

He tightened his fists. He would kill all of those bastards if he got the chance.

"Izaya?" Shinra asked.

Izaya shook his head. "It's nothing."

As he sat in class, he found himself drifting off into space.

"Orihara, can you answer this question?"

Izaya said the correct answer and the teacher praised him.

"What, no points to the school?" He snarked.

Shinra looked at him funny. "The school is all one, Izaya. We don't do that."

"Yeah, you're right. I saw that in a movie, it was stupid." Izaya snarked. Muggle movies were entertaining, much better than the tripe wizards believed in. And human sports were far more interesting than Quidditch was, though he couldn't say he didn't miss flying on his broomstick.

Hedwig was safe at home with Mairu and Kururi, though, so he doubted anything bad was going on. Still, those girls were always getting into trouble. He sighed and the rest of the school day passed on by.

He enjoyed being so unknown here. He was going to be someone different. Izaya Orihara, an informant. Enemy of Shizu-chan. Things were entertaining here. He loved humans. He entertained humans. He hated wizards.

Wizards were nothing more than an aberration, he decided. He frowned as he walked down the street, but froze in his tracks upon seeing a group of people in oddly dressed clothing walking. Instinctively, Izaya stopped and stood very still, but he watched them come closer.

They looked his way, but ignored him completely.

"Muggles, they should stop staring at us like that. I swear, kids these days." One whispered.

"Is it really safe here in Japan, being a wizard and all? I mean, after Harry Potter's disappearance, is it really safe? Sometimes, I think he's in hiding somewhere."

"Nonsense, that kid was an attention-seeking liar who got himself killed. The world's better off without him. I take Fudge's word over Potter's anyday." The third, a man said, scoffing.

"I heard that Albus Dumbledore is looking for the boy. He's chasing a ghost."

"Shush, this isn't the place to discuss such things. Either way, the boy's dead. Too stupid to fake his own death. What've we got to worry about?"

When their voices died down, Izaya emerged from his hiding place, shaking slightly.

"Oi, flea, what are you doing skulking around back there?" Shizuo demanded.

Izaya turned to face Shizuo, glaring at him. "Go away, Shizu-chan, it's none of your business."

"Hell yeah it is. You seemed afraid of something just now. I'm not stupid."

"It's nothing." Izaya muttered, but suddenly his scar twinged with pain. Izaya flinched, falling backwards.

"I-Izaya, what the hell?" Shizuo snapped.

But Izaya felt tired and he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.

"Oi, is the flea really all right?"

That was Shizu-chan's voice.

Izaya sat up in time to see his mother by his bedside and a frowning Shizuo looking away.

"Stupid flea. I only came to make sure you weren't dead."

"It's good to know you've made a few friends." His mother said. "I always feared you wouldn't."

"I'm fine, mother," Izaya said through gritted teeth. Dammit, Shizuo just had to see him like this. Didn't he?

He had the worst luck right now.

As Izaya's mother listened to her son argue with Shizuo, her thoughts drifted back to how she had first met the boy known as Izaya. But back then, he was simply a confused young boy fleeing from his pursuers, fleeing from the wizards he hated so much.

* * *

The Oriharas were not an ordinary family. Their daughters were extraordinary, for example. Not many people had twin daughters, after all. However, nothing could have ever prepared Kyoko and Ichirou Orihara for the events that would come to take place in their lives.

When a young boy appeared in their lives, they were changed forever. This, we swear, is the unalterable truth, because...the name of that boy was Harry Potter.

Kyoko Orihara had always wanted a boy, a son.

Instead, she had given birth to twin girls.

When that had happened, she'd sighed and decided to get over it, because even though she wanted a boy, she was no one sexist or cruel. She raised her little girls with love.

She was a satisfactory mother and tried to be as proud of her little girls as she could be, despite their flaws. She loved Mairu and Kururi Orihara.

Despite how much she tried, she had found she could no longer have children afterward.

This felt wrong.

It felt like Mairu and Kururi should have a sibling.

It wasn't that at five years old, they couldn't handle themselves, as they were surprisingly independent for children so young, but even she could tell that they were lonely, and they needed the guidance of an elder sibling.

How could she make that happen, though?

Until the day when one young man fell into their lives and was raised alongside them as Izaya Orihara, changing both their destinies and his forever.

"Mairu, dear!" Kyoko cried, "Have you picked up your room?"

"Go away!" Was all she got back.

Kyoko sighed. The twins were so attached it was impossible to pull them apart from each other.

They still slept in the same bed together. They were just children, of course, so they were innocent of what the world would think of two siblings sleeping together in the same bed.

What would she do when they were older?

"Kururi, Mairu," She said softly, "You're not angry with me, right?"

"Yeah, we're angry," Mairu sniffed, "Mommy's mean. She promised us a brother or sister, and she hasn't given us one!"

"Mommy is what people call infertile. In other words, I can't have any more children."

Kururi started crying, saying she wanted a sibling, while Mairu just glared at her mother.

"Mommy just saying this because she's mean!" She cried.

Where Mairu got that idea from, Kyoko had no idea.

"It's all right," She consoled them. "I'll be stopping by an adoption agency."

"What's adoption?" They asked.

"It's a place where children who don't have any mommies or daddies go, and I can adopt one and then you'll have a sibling. What do you think?"

"Yay!" Mairu cheered. "Mommy awesome!"

"Mama awesome!" Kururi whispered.

Once she had said that, the twins were more energetic than they had been in weeks. She herself was very excited.

For her, this idea that she was able to get another child excited her-and it made her dull work week that much more exciting. She had a babysitter watch the children for her while she worked.

Much to her disappointment, she found no children that interested her. And the adoption rules were so strict. She passed over all her legal information and waited for weeks until she got her answer.

When she went, she was disappointed to find that none of the children were even close to what she looked for in an older sibling. She knew it was a selfish wish and a thing to say, but all she wanted was for her little daughters to be happy.

As she drove back home from the orphanage, her heart sinking in her chest (how was she supposed to explain this to Mairu), she suddenly saw a figure crossing the road in front of her, near a thicket.

It was a teenage boy. He was walking forward, looking very disoriented and worn out. Kyoko slammed on her brakes in time for the boy to look up and notice her, but he stopped in the middle of the road suddenly and then passed out.

Kyoko scrambled out of her car and immediately looked him over, very concerned.

The boy appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years of age, if she had to hazard a guess. He had wild black hair that was spiky. There were bruises on his body, and it seemed like he'd been wandering for weeks, his clothing was disheveled and torn.

On top of that, he was carrying a knife on his person.

The most concerning thing, however, was that she saw old, faded bruises on his body. Particularly on his back and his arms.

They looked like they'd been inflicted by someone older.

"Who could do this to a child?" She whispered, feeling a wave of anger come over her.

Was this boy an abused child who'd run away?

But then her mind settled on something.

It might be a cold idea, but if she could just take him in and raise him as her own (of course, after doing everything she could to look for his original relatives, if they weren't abusive), then he would be safe from these people. They wouldn't hurt him again.

She loaded him into her car, being sure to strap him in tightly. The boy didn't awaken, but tossed and turned in his sleep, whispering to himself, groaning audibly.

Questions stirred in her mind as she pulled up in her driveway, taking the boy out carefully and making sure to place a call to the local police that she had found a runaway teen before she had put him in bed to await further information about what she should do.

When her husband came home from work, she explained the situation to him and they decided that it would be best to keep the boy a secret for now from the twins. They might overwhelm him with too much stimuli. After what he might have been through, it might have scared him.

She had seen the look in his eyes-what color were they-green-before he had passed out. It was as though he was terrified of everything in this world. No child should have to endure something so harsh.

In other words, half of his childhood had already been filled with something presumably terrifying. Kyoko could only attempt to guess what that might have been.

"Mairu-chan, Kururi-chan, I have a surprise. But you must promise not to wake him up."

"Who?" They said excitedly as they headed up the stairs, quietly, their mother shushing them.

"You might have a new older brother. But I must ask you to not startle him or ask too rashly. As he has been badly hurt, he might have to rest for a while. Mommy is checking around to see if he has any family who might be missing him first."

"Who is he, who is he?" They cried.

"I do not know his name." She said, "I found him outside. I think he has been abused, so he might be scared of other people."

"What does abused mean?" Kururi asked.

"Sometimes...sometimes there are bad mommies and daddies out there who spank their kids and yell mean things at them, all the time."

"That's not right! Who would do such a bad thing?" Mairu cried.

Kururi nodded in assent, her brown irises glancing over at the boy who lay in the bed.

Everyone was deeply interested in who the young boy was.

However, Kyoko could not find any information on the young boy or any traces of his relatives. The police had no information on this youth. They told her that maybe he was a runaway from another country, as they had no information on anyone of his description.

So she was stuck without answers.

Maybe the boy could tell her.

As she thought these things, on the third day she had the boy (he had remained unconscious for over two days), with the twins by her side, she noticed the boy groaning. He was waking up.

His eyes opened. They were green in color.

The boy slowly sat up and backed away in fear, looking at Kyoko in terror and then glancing around. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" He said in bad Japanese.

His Japanese wasn't that bad, but it had a British accent to it.

She gaped. Could this boy be a wizard?

The likelihood of a Muggle running into a wizard child was very unlikely.

She had some relatives who had been wizards, but they were very distant relatives and they did not keep in touch with her parents when they entered the Wizarding World.

It was only now that she remembered their existence.

There hadn't been any real wizards in the family for ages.

Wizards in Japan were rare as it was.

"Who are you? Where am I?" He demanded.

"I'm Kyoko Orihara, and these are my daughters, Mairu and Kururi Orihara. I found you, outside, passed out. I got really worried because you seemed to be badly injured. You've been unconscious for several days. Who hurt you?"

The boy bit his upper lip. "It doesn't matter now! I'm away from there! How do I know you're not going to send me back there?" He whipped out that knife of his and pointed it at Kyoko.

"Nice knife." Mairu said, grabbing the knife from the boy's hands and inspecting it.

The boy paused and gaped audibly.

"Little kids shouldn't be looking at weapons," He muttered weakly.

Kyoko took the knife from her daughter and stowed it away somewhere.

"You appear to have a small fever, so please rest in bed for now."

"But I-" He began.

"No arguing with me."

"He's gonna be our new big brother, right?" Mairu chirped.

"What?" The boy said, looking from the little girls to Kyoko, looking flabbergasted.

Once she had taken the girls downstairs to be taken care of by their father, she turned to the boy.

"What is your name?"

The boy paused. "You can't do this! I have people after me! You're just muggles! They'll kill you!"

"You don't appear to have a wand on you. Did you destroy it?"

"I destroyed my magic...and-"

"Then you're safe," She assured, "As long as you don't have on, they won't know you're alive. Is that what you want?"

"Yes," He whispered. "How can you be so kind to me? I don't deserve it! And how do you know about wizards?"

"My relatives are wizards-well, distant ones, actually. We haven't heard from them in decades, though." She said assuredly.

The boy's eyes watched her sharply, though he seemed to squint a few times.

"Do you need glasses?" She asked.

"I don't need them. I want to be able to see normally." He whispered.

Eventually, he started telling her bits and pieces of his story.

She gasped. "You're Harry Potter..."

The boy jolted as though she had said a curse word. "I don't want to be a wizard anymore."

So then the boy told her a harrowing tale of how he'd been used and abused, of how he'd been forced to be a hero for a school that despised his existence, how an old man had engineered his life, placing him with abusive relatives who used him and hurt him.

"And that's when I heard my best friends gossiping about me. They were plotting my demise." He whispered. "They wanted to kill me. They wanted to use me. I don't want to do anything for them! I hate all of them! I wish they were all dead."

The boy's fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white, and he slammed his fist into the wall.

"You're very brave." She said.

"I'm a coward." He said.

"No, you did what you needed to do. You don't need to sacrifice yourself for idiots like them. It's okay to cry, Harry."

"I don't go by the name anymore." He sniffed.

"What name do you want to go by, then?" She asked.

"I want to stay here, in Japan. Can you teach me Japanese?"

"Yes, of course I can. But what is your new name?" She pressed. "I have to call you something, don't I?"

"Izaya..." He muttered.

"Izaya? Like the prophet Isaiah? That sounds Japanese enough."

"You're still making a mistake," Izaya stuttered, but the next second, Kyoko had her arms around the boy in a hug.

"It's all right. Don't be afraid to let your feelings out. You'll be my son from now on, Izaya. No, should I call you Izaya _Orihara_?"

"Really?" The boy cried, sobbing into her shirt. "I've never had a real mother figure before. The one I thought I could trust betrayed me and my real mother was murdered..."

"Is there anything else you want? I can sign you up for school here."

"I want corrective surgery on my eyesight. And a pair of contacts would be nice. And I need some surgery on my face. I'm tired of looking like this."

"We're a wealthy family, we can afford that."

The door banged open then as Kururi and Mairu came charging in, followed shortly by their father.

"Is he all right? What's your name?" Kururi asked, tugging on his shirtsleeve.

Though the boy was still weak from his fever. "I-Izaya..." He mumbled.

"From now on, he'll be your older brother."

"Our older brother." Mairu said. "Izaya-nii!"

Mairu and Kururi hugged the former wizard, who blushed at the close contact.

"Now, now, give him some space."

The boy was very clumsy with Muggle things.

Gradually, she taught him their language and their ways.

In the months that followed, Izaya Orihara blossomed from a shy, haunted young man into a cool, confident, mature, and somewhat twisted young man.

She wasn't surprised that he had become a sociopath after all he'd endured. He never hurt animals or anything of the sort, he was very gentle with animals. He got good grades in school and seemed to have made a few friends, that was good.

She was glad that he was smiling and laughing.

Before Izaya had officially joined school, he'd had the surgeries done on him.

On his first day of school, he noticed that he was virtually ignored by his classmates. He was no longer someone that everyone noticed. He was a human, part of humanity. He was able to be himself.

A smirk crawled up his face.

"Humans are much more interesting than wizards," He whispered to himself.

That is, until he made Shizuo Heiwajima his enemy. Then Izaya became more well-known among the school. Even then, he commanded awe, but not fear. Fear, but a lot of kids still gave him respect.

At Hogwarts, Izaya had had no respect given to him. Everything was all everyone's business, all the time.

Which was why, when Kyoko heard the news that Izaya was officially friends with Shizuo now, she was not surprised. When she heard that the two of them were now in a relationship, she was even less surprised.

He was her son, after all. An extraordinary person, wizard or not, human or not.

Izaya was Izaya, and that was all that mattered.

She just wished he would call more.

* * *

Fenrir nuzzled his mate as he was with his pack.

"So, this little wizard, is he really this good?" His mate, Lycaonia, asked, kissing him.

"Yes, he's perfect. Voldemort really hates him. We're only allying with Voldemort because we get to kill as many wizards as possible."

"Of course, that's the fun part." Lycaonia said, "Without wizards, maybe we can have a safe world for our kind to grow up in. After all, it's those idiots who murdered your first mate and her pups, correct?"

Fenrir grimaced at the memory. Those cruel wizards had destroyed everything he'd ever loved. He'd recalled shaking his mate, but she would not budge. The she-wolf was dead, and his home had been ransacked and his pups murdered.

Wizards were brutal. Since that day, Fenrir had gone around, killing as many wizards as possible, in retaliation, protecting his pack, protecting what was truly his. It was a pity, Izaya would have made a great werewolf, but he was fine as he was.

It was much better if they had a choice in the matter.

Remus was a fool. He'd rather see Remus dead than see him hanging out with wizards-those wolf murderers.

"By the way, Fenrir," Lycaonia said, "The others bring news from Voldemort. He's almost ready to engage that fool Dumbledore in war. Do we join in this war, or do we watch from the sidelines?"

Fenrir barked in laughter. "And what do you suppose my answer will be?"

The other wolves around them howled.

"We're going to war alongside them. We get to fight and destroy the wizards." He declared to his pack.

'And of course, I'm supporting Potter. Not that they know that, though.'

Things were going to be very entertaining. And finally, he would be able to have another family. One that would not be destroyed by the wizards. He supposed Potter must have his own family now.

They were very similar-both of them betrayed by wizards, seeking vengeance, wanting power, ruthless. He could remember a time when he had naively believed in wizardkind.

Those times were over.

* * *

Behind his desk, Dumbledore sighed.

It was time for him to bring Ronald Weasley back into the plan.

Perhaps young Ginevra would prove a more useful pawn.

He wondered if Harry was still alive, but shook it off.

The Boy-Who-Lived was obviously dead.

And even if he was alive, he would never strike back against the wizards.

He'd had enough loyalty charms implanted into his brain, after all.

So that left only the option that he was dead.

Neville Longbottom...he still had a chance. He had been raising the boy for the past several years, attempting to train him to stop Voldemort.

Voldemort was rising up again. Dumbledore would not let Voldemort win.

Dumbledore had his pawns. He was willing to use anyone as long as he won and held control over his wizards. And if it meant killing the Death Eaters, he was for it. All for the greater good.

"Things are going to become most interesting, Fawkes." He mumbled.

Fawkes the phoenix crooned sadly, mourning the kind headmaster the world had once known.

"Now how shall I use Ronald or Longbottom? Perhaps I can plant one of them in Voldemort's ranks as a spy. Then I shall know exactly what he's doing, seeing as Severus died. Severus was useless, anyway." He said.

Everyone would know he was a good man. He was a hero.

* * *

Izaya sighed as he stirred his tea, looking out the window.

"I wonder if a storm's going to erupt soon, Shizu-chan."

"Yeah..." Shizuo muttered. "Are you really going to do it?"

"Yes." Izaya whispered. "I'm going to intervene. But I'm gonna sit back and watch the fireworks rise first. Soon, I will return to that accursed place to get my revenge. And then that old man will die."

"Oi, Izaya. Whatever happens, I'm gonna be by your side."

Izaya sighed. "I knew that, Shizu-chan. It's just exciting to see how the world will react to the idiotic wizards. The muggles aren't stupid. We'll show them the power that humans possess."


End file.
